Alea Iacta Est
by Emerald Time
Summary: Questions are the basis of all curiosity and it takes only one to start many more. A few changes in the years leading up to fourth year make a lot of difference. He starts questioning Dumbledore and the circumstances surrounding the events in his first three years. He seeks advice, reluctantly, from an unconventional source and finds that things are not as th - FullSummaryInside.
1. Chapter 1

Alea Iacta Est: Latin for "The Die Has Been Cast"

Summary: Questions are the basis of all curiosity and it takes only one to start many more. A few changes in the years leading up to fourth year make a lot of difference. He starts questioning Dumbledore and the circumstances surrounding the events in his first three years. He seeks advice, reluctantly, from an unconventional source and finds that things are not as they seem. In fourth year, well, let's just say, Harry's not happy with the lack of answers. Dumbledore has rolled the die. Now, it's Harry's turn.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I have, and most likely will, use some parts of the books/movies in this story, but most parts are not accurate. This is a figment of my imagination with a lot of help from J.K. Rowling. As this is not her own written work, they are not a part of the official Harry Potter Universe. Please don't sue me.

Warning: The saying "the path to hell is paved with good intentions" will apply to Dumbledore in every possible way.

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"**Parseltongue"**

_Harry Writing_

_Tom Writing_

* * *

1st Year:

"Oh, honestly! Don't you two read?" Hermione scowled, "Nicholas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone. That's what the dog is guarding!"

"But why would the stone be here?" Harry asked.

Hermione shrugged, "Flamel must have given it to Dumbledore to guard."

Harry shook his head, "How old did you say Flamel was?"

"665," Hermione replied immediately.

Harry nodded, "Right, so if he has protected the stone for so long, how come he gave it to Dumbledore to protect the stone, _now_? This probably isn't the first time someone has decided to steal a stone that will make you immortal, not to mention give you immeasurable wealth, don't you think it's a little weird?"

Hermione nodded, "It is, but perhaps someone was getting really close this time, and Flamel got scared?"

Harry, unconvinced, opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off.

"Guys, this means that Snape is really close to getting the stone," Ron interrupted, bringing them back on track.

* * *

Harry lay in a soft bed inside the Hospital Wing; Dumbledore had just left, leaving many questions unanswered, as well as forming new ones.

He closed his eyes, a frown overcoming his pale face. Ron, Hermione, and he had gotten to the stone; yet, the traps were set by the teachers to keep Voldemort from getting it. However, if three first-years could get it, then it wouldn't be too hard for a Dark Lord.

Even if they were lucky, and he had to admit, Hermione was brilliant, couldn't the second-year or third-year students get to it, too? What about the seventh-years? Surely one seventh-year had more knowledge than three first-years. Especially, since two of the three didn't even know that the Wizarding World existed before the Hogwarts letter.

The first trap was Fluffy: Hagrid had given him a flute that he'd whittled himself for Christmas.

The second trap was the Devil's Snare: Devil's Snare was on the first-year curriculum for Herbology. Hermione was at the top of that class.

The third trap was the Winged Keys: He was the youngest seeker in a century.

The fourth trap was the chess set: Ron was the best at chess in all of Gryffindor.

The fifth trap was the Troll: Already taken care of by Quirrell. Not to mention they'd beaten a troll at Halloween with a first-year spell.

The sixth trap was potions and logic: Hermione was the smartest student of their year, not to mention, a muggleborn full of logic.

The last was the Mirror of Erised: Which he'd seen during Christmas break. Not to mention, Dumbledore had explained it to him, himself.

There simply could not be that many coincidences.

* * *

"Here it is," Harry murmured looking through the book of magical beasts he had found in the Hogwarts Library.

_A __**Cerberus**__, or Kerberos, is a bronze multi-headed dog, or hellhound, with a serpent's tail, a mane of snakes, and a lion's claws. It is always seen guarding the entrance to the Underworld to prevent those who entered from ever escaping. It is also said that the Cerberus' saliva can destroy the spirits in the Underworld, should a spirit come in contact with it. It can only be controlled by Hades' Whistle (read more on page 698)._

_A__** Canis**__**Triceps **__is a large three-headed dog that is often mistaken for the Cerberus, although the Canis Triceps is a distant cousin of the Cerberus. While it does not guard the gates to the Underworld, it is often used for guarding valuable treasure. However, unlike the vicious Cerberus, the Canis Triceps has one weakness. It will fall asleep if music is played and will sleep until the music is stopped._

If the information was in this book, which wasn't even in the restricted section, then why did Voldemort take so long to figure it out?

* * *

2nd Year:

"Tom Riddle?" Harry asked, bewildered, "How are you here?"

Tom watched, an interest sparking in his violet eyes. The boy did not even ask about the girl, he seemed more interested in him.

"That's a little complicated, you see. I'm a little surprised that you aren't more worried about your little friend," Tom said, his eyes never leaving the younger boy before him.

Harry glanced at the prone form of Ginny Weasley, but his gaze didn't linger, instead his emerald eyes fixed on the other boy, his wand was clutched tightly in his hand.

"Considering Ginny's lying on the floor holding _your _diary, you had something to do with it and if that is true, then you are the threat. Who are you? You may be Tom Riddle, but there's more to you," Harry said suspiciously. He knew there was something more to this boy; he became even more vary when a smirk appeared and he tensed.

In response, Tom lifted Ginny's wand, Harry's wand flew up to point at Tom, a spell on his lips, but Tom simply raised an eyebrow dismissively and continued.

_Tom Marvolo Riddle_

He waved the wand over the letters and they rearranged themselves to form:

_I Am Lord Voldemort_

Harry gasped.

"Yes, little Harry, I am Lord Voldemort," suddenly furry clouded the violet irises, making them flash a ruby red.

"How is it, that a little baby, no more than 15 months old, defeated the most powerful wizard since Grindelwald?" He hissed as he walked forward, circling around the younger boy, who stood frozen in his spot, following him with his eyes.

Harry took a step forward, breaking the circle; he whirled around to face the teenage Dark Lord, a sneer on his lips.

"I don't know, why don't you _tell_ me? You couldn't have been that great if you were defeated by a baby barely a year and a half old, now could you?" Harry said, his eyes glinting maliciously.

"Watch your tongue, you insolent boy!" Riddle snarled, he turned to the statue of Salazar Slytherin, **"Salazar Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four."**

"**Kill Harry Potter," **Riddle commanded the giant snake, which had exited from Slytherin's mouth, a malevolent smirk playing on his lips.

* * *

Harry dropped the sword as he took his wand and moved to Ginny's side, he would die, but he'd take Riddle with him.

Harry pointed his wand at Ginny's chest and sent a burst of magic through it and to her heart. She jerked, but otherwise there was no other reaction.

Riddle chuckled, "Oh, little Harry, that won't do anything."

Riddle tilted his head, his eyes analyzing the scene before him, "It's amazing what a silly little book can do, especially in the hands of a silly little girl."

Harry's eyes snapped up. The book. He wrenched the fang out of his arm and quickly snatched the book before Riddle could move. In one swift downward arc, he stabbed the cover of the book. Ink squirted out like blood, splashing on his face and chest.

Holes slowly appeared all over Tom Riddle, gradually they started to grow bigger and bigger until Tom Riddle burst in to a shower of golden sparks.

Harry closed his eyes as his arm started to go numb, there was something that could save him, what was it? Tears… the tears of a phoenix were a powerful healing component, Dumbledore had told him that.

"FAWKES!" Harry shouted, a desperate edge in his voice as he started to feel dizzy.

The phoenix soared through the air, landing in front of him.

"Please Fawkes?" Harry asked. The phoenix blinked its eyes, moisture started to build, and slowly three drops, one by one, fell on Harry's arm, leaving behind a faint diamond-shaped scar.

Harry quickly held up the book, "I need just a few more, please?"

Fawkes looked at him curiously, and trilled, as if asking, 'why?'

"I need to know, I need some answers," Harry answered, "Please? It's the only way."

Fawkes looked at him once more, before two drops landed on the cover of the still bleeding book, where the fang had pierced it. He watched as the ink flowed back inside the cover and the hole closed up, leaving a faint scar, not unlike his own, on the leather cover.

"Thank you," Harry said as he stroked Fawkes' head, the phoenix trilled. The moment was broken by a gasp.

Harry snatched the book up and hid it in his inner robe pockets. He crawled over to Ginny whose eyes had just opened.

"Ginny! Ginny, are you okay?" Harry asked.

"Harry! Oh! Harry, I'm so s-sorry! I-it wasn't my f-fault, R-Riddle made m-me," Ginny sobbed, clutching Harry's robes.

He awkwardly patted her on the back, "It's okay, he's gone, and he can't hurt you anymore. Come on, we've got to go. Ron's waiting at the entrance."

He slowly stood up with Ginny clutched to his left side; he picked up the sword of Gryffindor and the sorting hat in his right hand and with Fawkes settled on his right shoulder, they began walking towards the entrance to the chamber.

* * *

"I believe, that since this is the work of Lord Voldemort, we have a grounds keeper that must be returned to our care," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling, "Mr. Weasley, if you could please send this out. It would be much appreciated."

Ron nodded, still grinning at the thought of the award he and Harry had received. He took the envelope and left.

"Harry, my dear boy, I must ask you, where is the diary that possessed Miss Weasley?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry's eyes widened in panic, "Oh! Sir! I'm so sorry! I left it in the chamber. It's just that, Ginny was crying when she woke up and then I saw the sword and the hat, then Fawkes was waiting, and I just, I forgot," he said the last word with his head down, a small blush on his cheeks.

Dumbledore smiled, "Quite alright, dear boy. As long as it can hurt no one else. You are positive that the diary is destroyed?"

Harry nodded, "Yes, I stabbed it with the basilisk fang multiple times, and all the ink that was in it, bled out."

"Good, good," Dumbledore muttered distractedly.

A moment of silence passed between them, both gazing at the blood-covered sword, gleaming in the lights of the office.

"Sir, I-" Harry cut off. What was he supposed to say?

"Yes, dear boy?"

"I," He hesitated, watching the twinkle in Dumbledore's blue eyes, then quickly changed his mind, "May I please speak to the sorting hat?"

A frown flashed across Dumbledore's face, but it was too fast for Harry to be sure.

"Of course, dear boy, here," Dumbledore stood from his chair and walked around his desk to pick up the sorting hat from the tall shelf that it had been set on.

"Thank you," Harry said, before taking the hat and plopping it on his head.

'_Hello again, Mr. Potter,' the hat's voice floated into his mind._

'_Hello, I just wanted to know, if-' Harry paused._

'_If you'd gone to the right house? If you are like Tom Riddle?' The sorting hat finished. He heard a sigh coming from the hat, 'I had warned you, that Slytherin is where you would make your true friends. I stand by my first decision. While Gryffindor is a great house, you would still do better in Slytherin. There you would have learned all you needed to know. As for Tom Riddle, you are indeed very much like him, but I must tell you, that it is our choices that make us, who we are. You have the potential to be great, remember that young Harry. All you need to do is realize it. Follow your own path, not the one that is laid out for you.'_

Harry was about to reply when a voice that was neither Dumbledore's, nor Ron's, interrupted his thoughts.

"Dumbledore," Lucius greeted coldly, he looked around and saw Harry standing to the side with the sorting hat on, "Mr. Potter."

Harry nodded and looked behind Lucius and saw none other than Dobby; his eyes widened in surprise and he couldn't help the gasp that left him, "Dobby!"

The small elf whimpered as Lucius shot it a glare.

"Ah, Lucius, my boy," Dumbledore said, the twinkle in his eyes lessening.

"I see you have returned," Lucius spoke, not even twitching at the unwanted endearment.

"Actually, the board of governors felt that my presence at the school was necessary when a student had been taken into the Chamber. Curiously, it seems that many of the governors were under the impression that, had they not agreed to suspend me in the first place, you would have made things… _difficult_ for their families," Dumbledore said.

"How dare you," Lucius said, his voice deadly calm, "My first priority is, and always will be, the protection of the school and its students."

An unnoticeable shiver ran down Harry's spine at the tone, and it wasn't the good kind.

Dumbledore twinkled, "Well then, rest assured, the culprit has been caught."

"Is that so? Do enlighten me as to who it was," Lucius drawled.

"Lord Voldemort," Dumbledore spoke, when Lucius raised an eyebrow, he elaborated, "He manipulated a student through a childhood diary of his."

"And where, exactly, is this diary?"

Dumbledore held up a black leather book, with a hole in the middle.

Harry took off the hat, staring at the diary confused, until he saw the hole and realized that this one was a fake, because the hole had been sealed on the real diary.

"I see," Lucius said, giving one last sneer, he turned and walked out the door, Dobby following behind him.

Harry put the hat down on the Headmaster's desk, an idea suddenly forming in his mind as something clicked, like the pieces of a puzzle falling in to place.

"Sir? May I have that book?"

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow and handed the copy to him. Harry bent down and quickly retrieved his sock. Grabbing the fake, he ran out the door, hopping on one foot to put his shoe back on. He sped down the spiral staircase and called out just before Lucius Malfoy turned the corner.

"Mr. Malfoy!"

He turned and raised an eyebrow.

"I believe this belongs to you," Harry said, handing the book to the older man.

Lucius looked down and sneered, "I don't know what you are talking about."

Now it was Harry's turn to raise an eyebrow, "In Flourish and Blotts, you bumped into Ginny Weasley and helped pick up her books, while doing so, you slipped it into her cauldron."

"What rubbish!" Lucius tossed the book to Dobby; he gracefully turned and started walking.

"Come, Dobby!"

Dobby looked up at Harry, his big green eyes glassy. Harry smiled reassuringly, "Open it," he whispered.

Dobby looked down and opened the book.

"Dobby!" Lucius Malfoy called, a dark promise in his voice.

"Master has given Dobby a sock!"

"What! I didn't-" Lucius turned and stopped, looking at the dropped book, the black sock in Dobby's hands, and finally the smirk on Harry's face.

"You! You lost me my servant, boy!" Lucius shouted before pulling out his wand.

Harry flinched when Lucius had said 'boy' which hadn't gone unnoticed by Lucius, curiosity flashed in Lucius' eyes before it was gone.

"You shall not harm Harry Potter!" Dobby squeaked.

Lucius started to open his mouth, when a flash of green light knocked him back. The older man stood up and glared at them, he swiftly turned and left. Neither Elf, nor boy saw the small smirk on the elder's face.

"Dobby! You were brilliant!" Harry exclaimed.

"Great Harry Potter sir is too kind!" Dobby said, twisting his ears, a small smile on his face. Dobby took Harry's slightly bigger hand in his own and looked up into his eyes.

"How can Dobby ever repay The Great Harry Potter sir?!" Dobby squeaked.

Harry smiled and patted the elf on the head, "Just don't try to save my life again and we'll be even."

Dobby smiled, "Yes sir, Master Harry Potter sir!"

A flash of green light once again lit up the corridor, but this time no one was thrown backwards. Harry blinked, "What was that?"

Dobby just smiled, Harry shook his head.

"Never mind, Dobby, I'll see you around, I have to take this to the Headmaster," Harry said, motioning towards the fallen book.

"Oh! Dobby can be doing that for Master Harry! Master Harry needs to be going to the hospital wing!" Dobby squeaked, picking up the book and pushing Harry towards said place.

Harry heaved a long-suffering sigh; Madam Pomfrey was going to have a fit. He felt Dobby pushing him and sighed once more, "Okay, okay, I'm going."

Dobby nodded, his ears flapping, "Good master!" and popped out.

Harry just stared at the spot the elf had been, he shook his head; then patted his robe pocket, making sure the real book was there. Days later, he would wonder how Dumbledore knew what Tom Riddle's diary looked like and why he couldn't figure out what the monster in the chamber was when three first years could?

* * *

3rd Year:

Harry sat on his bed after locking the door to his room. It had been two days since he had blown up Marjorie Dursley, and met the Minister of Magic, who had set him up at the Leaky Cauldron.

He stared at the innocent looking black diary of one Tom Marvolo Riddle. There was a diamond-shaped scar, matching the one on his own arm, where the fang had pierced the book, but he wasn't sure if Fawkes' tears had saved it. True, it was under a minute, but he wasn't sure if that had saved it: one, because it wasn't human, and two, because he didn't know what 'it' actually was.

He didn't think it was a memory preserved in a diary, there had to be something more; a memory wouldn't try to come back to life. However, to be positive that the diary was unharmed, he had to write in it, and he was reluctant to do it. He had been putting it off ever since the summer holidays had started. He knew that in order to get answers, he would need to write in it at some point.

Harry bit his lip, what if it possessed him? But, it hadn't possessed Ginny when she first wrote in it; it had taken a few months for the book to possess her. He picked up his self-inking quill, maybe he'd just write in it really fast, and then watch the book from further away for a response. He mentally snorted, if it wanted to possess him, a few measly steps wasn't going to make a difference.

Harry took a deep breath, before opening the book to the first page, he quickly wrote.

_Hi! My name is Neville._

He quickly pushed the book away and jumped off the bed, he was standing as far as possible but he leaned slightly forward to see what would happen next. He knew he looked silly, but he'd rather not take the chance.

He held his breath as the ink disappeared, and a familiar spidery script formed on the page, however, it appeared slower than before.

_I know it's you Potter! _

Harry gaped, what the hell! How? He quickly walked over to the bed, with the quill still in his hand, and wrote:

_WOW! You can TALK…or write back? Who's Potter?_

The writing disappeared once more and in its place was Tom's spidery script.

_I know your handwriting. _

Oh, that made sense, in a weird sort of way.

_Oh, just making sure you were alive._

After writing that, he quickly snapped the book shut, not waiting for a reply. He really didn't want to risk getting possessed. No matter how long Ginny had the book before it possessed her, he wasn't going to tamper with unknown magic.

Well, not yet.

* * *

Harry bit his lip, looking down at the form in his hands, asking which electives he wanted to take. His quill hovered over the form, all he'd have to do was check the boxes and owl it. He and Ron were going to take Divination and Care of Magical Creatures to get easy grades, they had discussed it at the end of last year, but now he was having second thoughts.

His last two years at Hogwarts had been a rude awakening for him. He had found that there was not a dark lord, but The Dark Lord, the most feared Dark Lord, even worse than Grindelwald, after him and what's more, he wasn't dead.

He caught sight of his book bag in which he'd stashed the diary two days ago. Riddle had gone to Hogwarts, he could ask him, he did have more experience, but there was still the danger of Riddle possessing him. Not to mention, he was the Dark Lord that was currently after his life, even in teenage form, he was still dangerous. Plus, he'd said that he wouldn't tamper with unknown magic.

Harry blew out a breath; throwing the forms on to his bed, he walked over to his bag and pulled out the diary from the bottom of it.

Hedwig hooted from her perch, staring at the book held in his hand.

"I know, I know, but it'll only be for a bit," Harry said, ignoring the glare he was receiving from his unusually smart owl.

Hedwig hooted again then promptly put her head under her wing and proceeded to ignore him.

He sat on his bed, pulling the forms closer and opening the book to the first page. His quill lingered over the blank page. How should he start? Would he even respond? Harry rolled his eyes, of course he'd respond, who else was Riddle going to talk to?

_Hello Tom._

_Talking to me now are you?_

_Yes, I wanted to ask you something, what electives did you take during your third year?_

There was a brief pause, before the spidery script appeared again.

_Are you asking me for advice?_

Harry scowled.

_No._

The spidery script did not appear. Harry waited for a full minute before sighing and putting quill to page.

_Yes._

_Was that so hard?_

_Yes. Now, tell me!_

_Aren't you demanding? I took Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, and Ancient Studies._

Harry frowned and looked at the forms.

_There is no mention of Ancient Studies on the form. Why is that?_

_Dumbledore probably took it off the charter when he became Headmaster. He wasn't too happy with the class when I was there, he was trying to get it cut off, but Dippet wouldn't have it. What electives are you going to take?_

Harry frowned. Ancient Studies sounded interesting… He'd have to look into that.

_I was thinking about taking Care of Magical Creatures and Divination._

_Divination is a waste of time, unless you have the gift, it's useless. It isn't a subject you can learn; on the other hand, Care of Magical Creatures is very useful._

Care of Magical Creatures… oh!

_Hey, do you know how to get past a Canis Triceps?_

_Yes, you play music to get it to fall asleep, why?_

Harry frowned, if the teenage version of Voldemort knew this, why didn't the older?

_There was one in Hogwarts my first year._ _Are Arithmancy and Ancient Runes helpful?_

There was a slight delay at the sudden change of topic, before the handwriting once again appeared.

_Yes, if you want to create your own spells or be a curse-breaker, than you need those two subjects, they also help with warding._

Harry perked up at that. Wards? Didn't Dumbledore say that there were blood wards at the Dursley's home, at the end of first year? He had asked Dumbledore if he could stay at Hogwarts for the summer, but he'd been refused.

He hesitated, should he ask? Surely, Riddle would have a lot of knowledge, especially if he created something like the Diary when he was 16. True, it wasn't good, or it didn't look like light magic, but it was complex all the same. He decided not to.

_Thank you._

_You're welcome._

After he read the reply, he closed the book. He took the form and checked off Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Care of Magical Creatures. After a bit of hesitation, he checked off Divination. He didn't want to leave out Ron.

* * *

Harry walked in to a shop that sold trunks; he wanted to see if there was a better one he could get. Hagrid hadn't let him get a more fancy one, stating that he didn't need it, and he'd been too busy last year with the Weasley's, Lockhart, and Knocturn Alley to go. A bell jingled in the back and he heard a female voice call out, "I'll be there in a minute!"

Harry walked around, looking at all the different trunks, the store had a different trunk along almost every space of the wall and there were also backpacks taking up a whole wall opposite the trunks; Harry fingered a black messenger bag with a blue and silver outline.

A tall, elegant woman walked out from the door behind the counter. She wore soft yellow robes that flowed around her, but were not long enough to hinder movement or get in the way of work.

She had long brown hair pulled up in to a high ponytail, lightly tanned skin, and long manicured nails.

She smiled, "Hello, my name is Hazel, how may I help you?"

Harry smiled politely, a light blush on his cheeks, "Um, I'd like to get a better trunk and bag for school. Um, could you tell me the options I have?"

Hazel smiled, inwardly squealing at the adorable little boy, "Well there are many different types, we have…"

Hazel spent about 20 minutes going over the types of trunks they had, Harry was astonished at the amount of different trunks. She explained about the standard ones, the ones with compartments, and the one with a ton of wards.

He ended up buying the black messenger bag with the blue and silver outline – he had extension, feather-light, and self-repairing charms put on it, as well as a non-summoning charm – and a three-compartment trunk; it was black with a silver outline and had three gems on the front, a ruby, a sapphire, and an emerald. He also had his initials engraved on the front, right below the gems in silver.

He had a shrinking charm put on it, so when he touched the top with his wand, it would automatically shrink or grow. He also had password and locking spells put on it, as well as muggle-repelling charms, he set the password in Parseltongue for all three compartments after he got to his room.

The first compartment opened when he put the tip of his wand to the ruby and hissed a simple, "**Open**."

It was where some of his clothes, muggle and wizarding, would go. He'd already gone shopping to get a complete muggle wardrobe; however, he would have to wait for his wizarding wardrobe to come in later from Madam Malkin's and a couple of formal dress robes from Twillfit and Tattings. He had also gone and gotten two pairs of dragon-hide boots – one in black, the other in a dark green –a pair of regular school shoes in black, and a pair of formal dress shoes, also in black. Now that he had the money, there was no reason to dress in rags.

He'd already burned Dudley's cast-offs, watching in satisfaction as the rags turned to ashes.

The second compartment opened with the sapphire and a hissed, "**Hedwig.**"

It was a library for all his books. The bookcases popped out of the trunk, and every time one was filled, it would slide to the side and disappear, leaving room for another, empty one, to fill its place. It could hold up to a thousand books; it also came with a small archive – it was about the size of Tom's journal, and was also black leather, but it had the word 'Archive' engraved in silver on the front in beautiful calligraphy – and a mini-bookcase, that when you wrote a title or a subject in said archive, then all the books containing said title or subject would appear in the mini-bookcase. The mini-bookcase would only appear if the archive was open; otherwise it would stay hidden. According to Hazel, this was the library's latest model.

He had already put in his first, second, and third-year books – discarding the Lockhart ones – as well as a few others that he'd picked up in Flourish & Blotts. He'd gotten History of the Wizarding World, Wizarding Etiquette, Wizarding Cultures, Wizarding Laws, and a couple of books on curses and jinxes as well as one of the books that he'd remembered he'd wanted in first year. He'd also gotten a Beginner's Basic Guide to Potions, a self-updating Hogwarts, A History, and 1001 Harmless Pranks. He put Tom Riddle's journal on a special bookcase that he'd had Hazel put in for masking dark artifacts and books.

She had been vary at first – actually, she had outright refused – but he'd reassured her that there was nothing illegal he was doing. She had still been reluctant, until finally he had told her his name and, of course, shown her his scar. She had jumped at the chance to help the Boy-Who-Lived, and had completely understood the need for the special bookcase – well, after a few more reassurances and a good bit of acting on his part – and hadn't asked any further questions.

The third compartment opened with the emerald and a hissed, "**Nightshade**."

This one was Harry's favorite: it was a small apartment. There were mahogany stairs that led down to the apartment. The stairs led to a living room with a leather cream-colored three-person couch opposite a loveseat and next to an armchair, both in the same color and material. It surrounded a small mahogany coffee table.

A window sat to the left of the stairs, it had dark blue curtains, and showed an aerial view of the room in which his trunk was. Hazel told him that he could switch the view so that it showed the outside of the building he was in so that he could see the sky. However, the window could only show the room he was in and the outside of the building he was in, as if he was looking out of a window in said building.

The window also could not be seen from the outside, but better yet, the window could be opened to let owls through. Hedwig would not need to stay outside of the trunk. There was a spot on the outside of the trunk that Hedwig had to touch with her beak to be able to appear in the sitting room, although other owls would probably have some trouble getting through, but Hazel had assured him that they'd be able to get inside.

To the right of the stairs was a kitchen, about half the size of the Dursley's. It had black marble counters. The cupboards were all made of the same mahogany wood, matching the coffee table. All the cupboards had stasis charms on them, but there were two big cupboards at the beginning, one with a cooling charm and one with a heating charm, and both had extension charms on them.

Opposite the stairs were three doors, one was a bathroom, one was a bedroom, and the other was a study (in order from left to right).

The bathroom was all black marble with a shower and a Jacuzzi, which was sunk into the ground. The shower had glass sliding doors, and a shelf to put his necessities on. A loo sat on the far side of the bathroom, and a circular cream-colored rug was next to the Jacuzzi. Above the sink, a mirror stretched from the sink, up to the ceiling and all the way across the wall.

The bedroom had a soft cream-colored king-sized bed in the middle, with a nightstand on each side, a floor-length mirror on the left side of the room, and a walk-in closet, where all his formal robes and muggle clothing would go.

The study was small; it had a mahogany bookshelf to the right, which was connected to the library, and on the left was a big, black marble fireplace with a black iron floo powder holder, he made a mental note to get some floo powder later. In the center of the study, facing the door was a mahogany wood desk and a high-backed brown chair behind it. _'I'll have to see if I can get one of those big black, comfy rolling computer chairs in here,'_ Harry thought. He'd only sat in one once, when the Dursleys had been out on a trip and had left the house to himself, and he'd never forgotten it.

The floo was already connected, all he'd have to do is write his address on the parchment that was on the mantle, point his wand, and say the address. If the address was accepted, the parchment would disappear in a flash of light. If not, then the parchment would flash red and become blank once more, and he'd have to come up with another address. He could also set a password, so that only the people who had the password could directly enter the study. Beside the parchment, there was a golden tab, which, once the foo was connected, would flash the name of the person attempting to contact him.

The whole apartment had plush cream-colored carpeting, except for the kitchen, which had mahogany wood flooring, the bathroom, which had black marble tiles, and the mahogany wood stairs. The base of the stairs had mahogany wood flooring in a square surrounding it, and a place to keep shoes.

All in all, the trunk with the bag had cost him 4,010 galleons. He got a 20-galleon discount on the bag, as he'd spent so much on the trunk. Considering how much he had in his trust-vault, he wasn't worried.

He had gone shopping to fully equip the apartment; he'd found a muggle store that sold the high-back leather rolling chair he'd wanted – he had moved the other chair in front of the desk in his study – he also bought groceries and other necessities that he'd need to survive the Dursley's next summer, just in case. Thank Merlin for stasis charms.

* * *

"Harry!" Hermione shouted when she spotted him sitting at a table outside of Florean Fortescue's Ice-cream Parlour.

Harry turned and grinned, recognizing his best friend's voice.

Hermione gasped, "Wow, you look so much better without your glasses!"

Harry smiled, "Thanks, those glasses were always getting in the way, and while I was exploring Diagon Alley, I saw this shop for eye-wear. At first I was going to get something similar to muggle contacts, but then Mrs. Selwyn, that's the owner's name, suggested correcting my eyes permanently, it was expensive, but it was a good investment. I just have to take a potion everyday before I go to sleep, and my eyesight will be corrected by Christmas!"

Hermione squealed and hugged him, "I'm so happy for you! And your eyes are really pretty!" She then took a good look at him, taking in the new clothes, he was wearing an everyday black robe, underneath that, he wore a royal blue shirt and black trousers that were tucked in to black dragon-hide boots "Wow! You look great!"

Harry laughed, "Thanks Hermione, have you seen Ron?"

She shook her head, "I don't know, but he'll be here in a bit, I think. Did you finish your summer work? What electives are you taking?"

Harry smirked, "You lasted a minute longer than I expected to start asking about school."

Hermione huffed and lightly slapped him upside the head.

"Ow!" Harry mock pouted.

"Oh, stop it!" Hermione gave him a mock glare, they held out for five seconds, before bursting out in laughter.

"Okay, okay," Harry said, after catching his breath, "I took Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy."

Hermione looked surprised at the last two, "Really? That's so cool! I'm taking those four and muggle studies."

Harry spluttered, "B-but WHY? Your parents are already muggles!"

"But it'll be so interesting to see how wizards view them," Hermione explained.

Harry shook his head, "Only you Hermione, only you."

* * *

"Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger, I need to speak with you both, if you would please step into my office," McGonagall called.

Ron stopped to look at them, but McGonagall waved him ahead.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other curiously, before they turned and walked after their head of house.

Once inside, McGonagall handed them each a piece of paper, "These are your schedules. As you can see, you both have classes that overlap. Usually we would not have this problem, as many students don't take that many classes, or not those specific classes. "

Harry looked at his schedule, on Monday, Divination and Ancient Runes overlapped; on Thursday, Divination and Arithmancy overlapped; and on Friday, Charms and Ancient Runes overlapped. He looked over to Hermione's and saw that it was the same, except hers had Divination, Arithmancy, and Muggle studies overlapping on Thursdays.

Harry looked up, "What about the Gryffindors taking Charms and Ancient Runes on Friday? Surely we aren't the only Gryffindors taking Ancient Runes? Not to mention, Divination, Arithmancy, and Muggle studies?"

McGonagall pursed her lips and her face took on a disapproving look, "None of the other Gryffindors took Ancient Runes, except yourselves and Dean Thomas, who has been moved to the Charms class with the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. The other Gryffindors did not take overlapping electives. Usually if the student only has one overlapping class, they are moved to a class with a different house."

"So what about us?" Hermione asked.

"You will be given time-turners," McGonagall spoke.

"Time-turners?" Harry asked.

McGonagall nodded, "Yes. I have gotten permission from the ministry to give you two time-turners. It is not rare that we need to ask for time-turners for the students, but it is not a usual occurrence, either. A couple of the older years have had them, however, most stop using them after their third year, as they drop a couple of the courses and stick with two or three of the ones they really like."

She explained what they were and how to use them, also going through the rules and warning them not to misuse the time-turners, as they were a privilege.

Both nodded and were each handed a time-turner on a gold necklace.

As they were about to leave, McGonagall spoke, "Oh, do remember that you are not allowed to tell anyone of this. Understood?"

"Yes, Professor," Harry and Hermione chorused.

* * *

"This is a bunch of crap! You're just a two-bit fraud!" Hermione snapped.

Everyone watched in awe, as _The Hermione Granger _told off a teacher.

She stood up, silently glancing at her two friends to see if they would follow. Harry shook his head; he had to stay with Ron. Plus, there was also the fact that he couldn't keep the time-turner if he dropped Divination, and he'd found it was a very useful little thing to have around.

* * *

"Hermione," Harry called, catching her attention before she could leave.

"What," Hermione snapped, still pissed because of what had happened at breakfast.

"Can we talk?" Harry asked, slightly flinching at her tone.

Her eyes softened, "What is it?"

"Not here, come on," Harry said, he pushed open the portrait hole and led her down to an empty stretch of hall with no portraits. He threw up a silencing charm, and then turned to Hermione, who was looking confused.

"I know who sent me the Firebolt," Harry said bluntly.

Hermione gasped, "What! How come you didn't say anything?"

Harry shook his head, "Hermione, the only reason I'm telling you, is because you worry and probably would have gone to the teachers and created unnecessary panic."

Hermione looked down guiltily, but determination flashed in her eyes, "It could have been cursed! It could have been sent from Sirius Black! Remember first year with Quirrell?"

Harry shook his head, "Let me tell you why it couldn't have been cursed, firstly, the packaging is unopened, that means it came straight from the shop. Wizarding packaging is different from muggles; they have to have all sorts of protection charms on it, especially expensive stuff, like a _Firebolt_, so that it doesn't get stolen, _or _cursed, especially since they use owls to deliver it which can be intercepted."

Hermione sighed seeing the logic in her friend's words, "Fine. Though you caught me just in time."

Harry looked at her curiously.

She smiled, guiltily, "I was heading out to get Professor McGonagall."

Harry sighed in relief, "Thank Merlin I found you before then!" He sighed mournfully, "I have got to break that faith that you have in authority figures!"

She slapped him on his arm, "Harry! The adults would have just looked it over!"

"Seriously?" Harry asked in disbelief, "They could have wrecked it! They would have taken it apart and then tried putting it back together! I mean, it's more than a thousand galleon broom, you can't just take it apart and put it back together!" Harry exclaimed incredulously.

"Hehe," Hermione chuckled nervously, "It's a good thing you stopped me then, isn't it?"

Harry rolled his eyes, though he felt a twinge of guilt for lying to his friend. He had no idea who had sent him the broom, but he hadn't lied about what he said about the spells on the packaging. And anyways, he doubted Sirius Black would spend so much on a broom just to kill him.

* * *

Harry watched as Sirius flew off on Buckbeak. He turned back after Sirius was out of sight.

"Come on, Harry, we need to get back to the hospital wing," Hermione said softly.

"He was my last chance at escaping the Dursleys," Harry whispered.

Hermione sucked in a sharp breath, and quickly pulled him into a hug, "Oh Harry."

He hugged her back, glad for the silent comfort.

* * *

"Hermione," Harry called.

"Hmm?" Hermione said.

Their eyes were closed as they lay against a tree trunk, basking in the warm sun. Exams were finally over, although Ron still had his last exam with Trelawney left, so he was going to join them later on. He had already finished his own.

"When an Animagus transforms, they don't need their wands, right?" Harry asked.

Hermione finally opened her eyes and turned her head to face him, "No, it's called wandless magic. However, wandless magic is extremely hard, and you have to be a very powerful wizard to accomplish even the most basic things. Like Professor Snape, when he slams the classroom doors with a wave of his hands."

Harry nodded, "But what about Animagi? I mean, look at Pettigrew, he wasn't, _isn't_, very powerful but he's still an Animagus."

Hermione hummed thoughtfully, "I'd have to look into it, but that's a good point. Why are you asking?"

"I was just thinking-"

Hermione gasped, "Wow! Really?"

Harry elbowed her in the side, "Hush you!"

Hermione laughed.

"Anyways, our wands have traces on them so we can't do magic over the summer, but, if we don't use our wands…" Harry trailed off, a mischievous smirk on his lips.

* * *

Emerald: Yo! How do you like it? This chapter is the basis for the rest of the story. The next chapter is where the story will start.

2nd Year Explanation: In cannon (the movie, since I don't have a copy of the book), Ginny wakes up as soon as Tom Riddle is destroyed after Harry stabs the diary repeatedly. However, in here, Harry only stabs the diary once, so the magic takes some time to leave Ginny's body, that's why she doesn't wake up immediately and Harry has time to repair the book. That's my theory anyways.

3rd Year Explanation: The class schedules, I got those off of the Harry Potter Wiki. There are quite a few classes that overlap, this is the full schedule:

Monday:

Care of Magical Creatures

Divination and Study of Ancient Runes

Transfiguration

Potions

Defense Against the Dark Arts

Tuesday:

CoMC

Potions

Astronomy

Wednesday:

History of Magic

Herbology

Thursday:

Divination, Muggle Studies, and Arithmancy

Transfiguration

Potions

DADA

CoMC

Friday:

Potions

Charms and Study of Ancient Runes

DADA

I hope that this answers any questions you may have.

Read and Review! =D


	2. Chapter 2

_**Change of Name:**_ Someone corrected me, that _Talis Est Volvite_ does not mean "the die has been cast" but _Alea Iacta Est _is the proper translation. Thank you SIN for the correction. All of my Latin knowledge extends to Harry Potter and the random fics that use Latin, other than that, I have no Latin experience whatsoever. Although, I do know that _Alea Iacta Est _is correct, I double-checked (I feel so stupid for not thoroughly checking before). It's much easier when you already know the words.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Pairings: I'm not sure if I will do any pairings, but if I do, it will be Male/Harry (most likely Voldemort). This is not a Harry/Hermione or Harry/Luna.

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"**Parseltongue"**

_Harry Writing_

_Tom Writing_

* * *

4th Year:

Harry sighed, Vernon had still been angry after what happened with Marge, thankfully, the Dursleys had found out about Sirius Black being his Godfather, not to mention, he was a "known" mass murderer, so he had escaped a beating. He'd hashed out an agreement with Vernon, saying that if Vernon let him keep his trunk in his room, they would not see him at all during the summer, that they would not need to feed him or even let him out to use the loo. They wouldn't even now he was there.

Vernon had looked at him suspiciously, then reluctantly agreed; in return he did not want a peep out of Harry.

Harry had gone to his room, unshrunk his trunk and had then proceeded to go to his study. He had yet to set up the floo, for lack of an address and the fact that it had slipped his mind, but he had the perfect one now.

He took out a quill and wrote the address he had decided on; then he took out his wand and tapped it on the parchment, "Prongslet's Shadow Pad."

The parchment flashed and disappeared. He grinned, and then took his wand and tapped it on the golden tab on the mantle and said, "Padfoot."

He watched as it pulsed silver and his grin widened, the password was set.

* * *

Hedwig swooped in to the living room and landed on her perch.

"Hoot!"

Harry smiled as he came out of his study, he had just finished his Arithmancy homework, and he couldn't be happier. He was finally able to do his work during the summer holidays instead of rushing the night before and it was a good thing, too, because now he had a lot more classes. He'd had to give the time-turner back at the end of his exams, but McGonagall had promised that he could have it back before the Welcoming Feast. Hermione had dropped Divination and Muggle Studies, so had to give her time-turner back permanently. McGonagall had tried to get him to drop a few subjects as well, but the time-turner was too useful to lose and if he had to do work for one more class because of it, then so be it.

"Hey girl," Harry stroked his owl, "Do you have a letter for me?"

Hedwig cooed and stuck out her leg, Harry took the letter and gave her a treat. Hedwig nipped his fingers affectionately, before ducking her head under her wing to take a nap.

|Letter|

Harry,

Hey mate, how are you? Hope the muggles are treating you right. Guess what?! Dad's got tickets to see the 422nd Quidditch World Cup! He said he'd come get you, of course. Are the Dursley's connected to the floo? Hermione's already here, I can't wait, it's so exciting!

Reply soon mate,

Ron

|Letter End|

Harry chuckled he could practically feel the excitement oozing off of Ron. He walked to his study and took out a piece of parchment and a quill.

|Letter|

Hey Ron, Hermione,

Your dad doesn't have to come get me, I have my own floo, and it's better for everyone if the Dursley's don't know I'm leaving. Just get me a date and time, and I'll be at the Burrow. I can't wait to see you guys again!

Harry

|Letter End|

Harry decided to let Hedwig rest for a bit before sending off the letter. He had to finish his homework. For once, he wanted to get it done earlier rather than later.

"Hermione would be so proud," Harry snorted.

* * *

Harry concentrated on the book that was on his desk. He held his hand above it and concentrated on the feeling of his magic, pulling it towards his hand, "Wingardium Leviosa."

The book rose above the desk, flying through the room following his hand before he brought his hand down, making the book hover in the air, before it landed with a soft thump. Harry smiled. He had started by pushing things around on the desk, using his magic, and then he had graduated to the first year spells. Though it had taken him weeks to reach this point.

He frowned, he had tried a few of the second-year spells, but they wouldn't work. He had been at it for more than a week now. He was left simply practicing the first-year spells over and over again. Although, he had tried to use his magic without saying the words – it seemed to work sometimes, but other times, it didn't – it still left him frustrated.

He sighed and got up, he needed a break.

* * *

Harry frowned as he thought of something, how would he get his trunk to the Burrow? He had just received a reply from Ron telling him to come over as soon as he could. There was, of course, a spell that could be used, but he wasn't allowed to do magic outside of Hogwarts and his wandless magic was not up to that level.

He had considered taking the Knight bus, but his relatives weren't supposed to see or hear him, or they would take away his trunk. That was their agreement and he wouldn't put it past Vernon to consider their agreement broken and not let him have his trunk next summer.

If only he'd had a house-elf, he could just order him to shrink down his things and just pop it over to the Burrow after he left. Speaking of house-elves…

"Maybe Dobby can help…" Harry muttered, pacing in front of the couch.

"Master Harry Potter sir called for Dobby?"

Harry whirled around, behind him stood the elf he had freed from Lucius Malfoy more than a year ago.

"Dobby what are you doing here?" Harry asked, he paused, "Wait, Master?"

Dobby looked nervous as he twisted his ears.

Harry suddenly remembered the green light he had seen, "Dobby, what did you do?"

"Dobby is SORRY," the elf cried and lunged at Harry's knees, nearly knocking him over.

"Whoa, Dobby, it's okay," Harry said, trying to calm the blabbering hysterical house-elf, who was now possibly his.

"Dobby, calm down," Harry ordered. The house-elf calmed down slightly and stepped back.

"I'm not mad, Dobby. I just wish you would've told me," Harry said, his eyes softening at the teary-eyed house-elf.

Dobby smiled shyly, "What does Master Harry Potter sir need?"

"Just call me Harry and I am going to go through the floo, so I need you to take my trunk to the Burrow," Harry said.

Dobby nodded, "Dobby will do as Master Harry says."

Harry cocked his head, "Dobby why did you bind yourself to me? I thought you wanted to be free?"

Dobby looked down, "Dobby only wanted to be free of bad masters. But Dobby cannot be completely free. If Dobby cannot serve a wizard, then Dobby's magic will go away. Watch."

Dobby snapped his fingers.

Suddenly Harry was able to see a thin glowing green line connecting Dobby to him. Harry listened as Dobby explained the connection between them and how much magic it took to keep a house-elf alive, it was surprisingly small, like a drop of water from an ocean.

"Why is the line flickering?" Harry asked.

"It is because Master Harry has yet to accept," Dobby explained.

"What do I do to accept?" Harry asked. After all, he didn't want Dobby to die and if Dobby was happy to be bound to him, who was he to deny him?

"Master Harry must say 'I accept the house-elf known as Dobby in to my service, so mote it be' and the bond is being complete," Dobby said.

Harry nodded, he looked at Dobby, "Are you sure, Dobby? That you want to be bound to me and not someone else?"

Dobby nodded, his bat-like ears flapping frantically, "Yes! Yes! Will Master Harry accept?"

Harry smiled, "I accept the house-elf known as Dobby in to my service, so mote it be."

A flash of white light and then Harry could see the connection become thicker and stop flickering.

Harry looked at Dobby and was surprised to see a silky black pillowcase with the Potter family crest stitched above the heart.

"Dobby is happy Master Harry has accepted! Dobby will be going to make dinner, now!" Dobby said, happily bouncing to the kitchen.

"Oh, Dobby," Harry called before the elf could vanish in to the kitchen.

"Yes, Master Harry?"

"You are never allowed to punish yourself, that is an order," Harry said firmly.

Dobby nodded, tears gathering once again in his eyes as a grin made its way on to his face, "Yes, Master Harry!"

* * *

Harry looked at the Hogwarts letter in his hand:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock,_

_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

He thought about Sirius, surely a man with so many titles and respect could get Sirius a trial? Why hadn't Dumbledore insisted on a trial in the first place, _before_ locking up a man in Azkaban? What happened to innocent until proven guilty?

* * *

"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore called. The silence in the hall was deafening, as Harry registered what had happened.

Hermione shoved him with a whispered "Go."

He numbly got up, walking up to the staff table, Dumbledore motioned for him to go in to the side chamber, just off the Great Hall where the other champions were.

* * *

Harry finally snapped as Severus Snape finished speaking, "Oh yes! I'm such an attention-seeking whore that I went and got myself entered in to a tournament that is only entered by students at least three years older than me!"

Harry glared at the silent room, his magic starting to fill the room, making an invisible wind gather around him, lifting his bangs so that everyone could see the lightning bolt scar on his head, his Avada Kedavra colored eyes glowing with power.

"Eternal glory? Fame? Money?" Harry said, looking around the room full of people.

Harry sneered, "Tell me, who were the last three champions of this tournament? Or, not even, just tell me the name of the winner?"

When everyone remained silent, he continued.

"No one? Apparently eternal glory isn't so eternal, after all," Harry spat, the wind still circling his form, making his robes swirl, "Fame? I survived the killing curse at the age of one at the cost of my parents; actually, they died on this very day! I think I'm pretty much set for fame. Money? Please! I'm the only heir to the Potter fortune, a thousand galleons is pocket change to me!" Harry said, glaring at the people who all looked slightly guilty as the validity of his claims sunk in.

"Mr. Potter, detention!" Snape snapped.

Harry smiled coldly, the wind suddenly died down, everyone looked apprehensive, "Assign all the detentions you want, you biased bastard, you can sit there and serve them yourself!"

"Harry! Apologize, that was unwarranted," Dumbledore said, throwing him a disapproving look.

Harry sneered, but before he could say anything, McGonagall stepped forward.

"Harry James Potter! While your reaction is to be expected, your words to Professor Snape were rude and uncalled for. While Professor Snape had no right to assign you detention for your outburst, that is no way to speak to a teacher, is that understood?" McGonagall said, her tone firm. Harry nodded, looking ashamed, he had let his temper get the best of him, although, he wasn't sorry for what he'd said; Snape deserved it. She then turned on Severus.

"Severus Tobias Snape! You are a teacher, act like it! At first, I did not believe that you would stoop so low as to hold the sins of the father against the child, but it seems like I was wrong!" McGonagall snapped, her stern tone taking on a note of disappointment.

Severus looked down, not liking that tone in his friend and colleague's voice. Minerva had never taken that tone with him, unlike others' opinions, he cared about her opinion; she had always been fair to him, no matter what anyone else said. She had always stood up for him.

"Now, now, Miner-" Dumbledore started to speak but a glare from McGonagall stopped him in his tracks. No one dared make a sound: the Hogwarts' staff and the adults who had been taught by her knew how frightening the Head of Gryffindor House and Deputy Headmistress could be, and the foreigners were speechless at the display of power she showed, when she managed to shut Dumbledore up.

"Both of you will apologize to each other," when none of the two moved, McGonagall's voice took on a chilling quality, "Now."

Harry flinched and looked up from underneath his bangs, "I apologize Professor Snape, that was uncalled for." Not really.

"Severus!" Minerva snapped, a warning in her tone, when he didn't respond. She glared at him to get her point across that she was not in a tolerant mood.

Snape scowled, but stayed silent for a few moments, before finally relenting under her glare, "I accept your apology and I apologize on your treatment by myself based on your father."

"I accept your apology, professor," Harry said, pouting slightly, when McGonagall looked at him.

"Now, Ludo, is there anyway that Mr. Potter does not have to compete?" McGonagall asked after no one spoke for a few minutes.

"U-um well, Barty knows the rules," Ludo said, slightly afraid of the stern witch, who in a minute, managed to tame the feared potions master that made fourth years cry.

"His name came out of the Goblet, it is a magically binding contract, he must compete," Barty stated.

"I guess that settles it," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes twinkling; though he was slightly vary of his Deputy Headmistress, even he'd never managed to get a response like that out of Severus. Ever.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Diggory, both of you off to bed," McGonagall said sternly.

"Yes, professor," Harry and Cedric spoke as they hurried off.

They both sighed in relief as they stepped out of the room in to the Great Hall, glad to be away from the stern professor.

"Potter," Cedric said, as they approached the doors.

"Hm?" Harry looked up.

"I believe you and I'll make sure to tell the Hufflepuffs."

Harry smiled, "Thanks, but I don't think it'll make much of a difference."

"It's not much, but every little bit will count, especially with the Slytherins, they're going to be horrible to you."

Harry groaned, "I know."

* * *

Harry looked at his trunk. No one was in the dorm room, he was vary of what he was about to do, he had been stressing over it all day, but he needed all the help he could get, and if the help came in the form of the teenage Dark Lord's diary, then so be it.

He tapped the sapphire gem with his wand, **"Hedwig."**

He slid the shelves aside until the shelf with Tom Riddle's diary came in to view. He slid the book off the shelf then locked the trunk.

He took his self-inking quill and put it to the paper.

_Hello Tom._

_Well, hello Harry Potter. What brings you to seek out my company?_

_Do you know what the TriWizard Tournament is?_

_Of course._

_Do you know what the tasks are like?_

_Yes, but it was discontinued before I was in school, why?_

Harry bit his lip. He couldn't let him know that he'd been entered or Riddle would ask him for something in return.

_Just curious, they restarted the tournament this year. Only students 17 and older may enter._

He had just finished writing the last word, before a response was given.

_You were entered, weren't you?_

_What makes you say that?_

_Because you don't use my diary unless it's important, in fact, you've only used this diary three times, not counting your second year when you didn't know what it was. The first was to make sure I was okay, the second was for your electives, and now._

He didn't answer. He looked down and saw more writing appear.

_I can, of course, help you find the answers you seek._

Harry snorted.

_Nice try, Riddle. But I'm not keeping you with me so that you can possess me. I'll find out how to deal with this on my own._

_Oh, I wouldn't possess you._

_I'm not letting you posses anyone else, either!_

_Suit yourself, but I'm here if you need help, well, with the proper incentive that is._

Harry sighed as he shut the book. Well, Riddle hadn't been any help. What was he going to do now?

* * *

Harry took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do. It was two weeks after the Halloween feast; it was lunchtime in the Great Hall, and all the students and staff would be there. He gathered every ounce of his Gryffindor courage and pushed open the doors and walked in.

Butterflies fluttered in his stomach, but none of the nervousness that he was feeling inside showed on his face. He walked passed the Gryffindors and straight up to the staff table. A hush followed, as every eye in the great hall was drawn to him.

"Harry, my boy," Dumbledore started to speak, but Harry didn't respond. Instead, he spun on his heel and whipped out his wand, casting a sonorous on his throat, he spoke.

"I, Hadrian James Potter, do so swear on my magic that I did not put my name, nor did I ask anyone else, student or teacher, to put my name in the Goblet of Fire, so mote it be."

A flash of magic accompanied his words. He pointed his wand at his throat and muttered a "Finite Incantatum."

He pointed his wand at the Gryffindor table and said, "Wingardium Leviosa." The goblet, which his wand was aimed at, slowly floated up into the air and weaved over the heads of the students. He set it back down and walked over to the Gryffindor table, sitting down beside Hermione. She smiled at him, as the Great Hall slowly began to fill with noise again. This time, everyone was talking about the binding oath that the fourth TriWizard Champion had made.

Harry heard quite a few people claiming that they never doubted him for a moment, Harry snorted at that.

"That was brilliant!" Hermione said. Harry grinned, and gave a mock bow, "Thank you, thank you very much."

Hermione giggled at his poor impersonation of Elvis.

She looked around, "The Hufflepuffs look guilty; so do the Ravenclaws."

Harry quirked a brow, "What about the Slytherins?"

"They look disappointed that you made the oath, I don't think those 'Potter Stinks' badges are going to be so popular anymore. How did you know to do that, anyways?" Hermione asked, looking over at him questioningly.

"I remembered that swearing on one's magic was a full-proof and easy way to find out if one was lying or not," Harry shrugged, "Since I was telling the truth, it did me no harm."

"Hadrian?" Hermione quirked an eyebrow.

"My full first name is Hadrian, I found out about it in my first year, when I went back to Gringotts after Hagrid dropped me off at the Dursleys," Harry explained, "Speaking of…I need to check in with the goblins about something."

Hermione's other eyebrow went up to join the first.

"This tournament is for overage wizards only," was all Harry said in reply.

"Does this mean you don't have to participate in the tournament?" Hermione asked, bringing the topic back to the point.

Harry sighed, and shook his head, "No, unfortunately, the rules are pretty binding. Even if I didn't put my name in, I still have to go through with the damn thing."

He looked around and saw many of the Gryffindors turn their heads away quickly, so as not to be caught eavesdropping. He turned back to Hermione, who was scowling at a group of second year girls.

"Do you reckon we'll ever have a quiet year?" Harry asked, pouting slightly.

"Nope," Hermione replied, popping the 'p.' She fell silent when she saw who was approaching them.

"Uh, Harry?" Ron came up to the other side of the table where the two-thirds of the Golden Trio sat, and took a seat opposite them.

"What do you want Weasley?" Harry said, his tone cold. Hermione threw Ron a glare, then turned and got out a book from her bag, and preceded to burry her nose in it, completely ignoring the redhead.

Along with the Slytherins, with their "Potter Stinks" badges, the Puffs', and Ravens' with their own glares and taunts, Ron had been a complete and utter prat because of his jealousy. He had resorted to throwing dirty looks and calling him names, as well.

Harry could easily forgive the Puffs and Ravens, they didn't know him, they didn't pretend to be his friends. Slytherins? Well, they were Slytherins; honestly, it would've been weird if they _hadn't_ taunted him. But, Ron? Ron was supposed to be his best mate, his first friend. Well, he'd seen how much that friendship had meant.

Ron flinched at the cold tone in Harry's voice and his face burned at the dismissal from Hermione, but he took a deep breath, "I should have believed you when you said that you didn't put your name in the Goblet, but everyone was saying you did, behind your back," Ron said, trying to defend himself.

A hush had fallen over the hall once again, as everyone listened to the approaching argument between the Boy-Who-Lived and his best mate.

"Everyone else isn't my best mate. _Everyone_ _else_ doesn't know me. _Everyone_ _else_ hasn't been my friend since first year. _Everyone else _is. _**Every.**__**One.**__**Else**_," Harry said, his voice deadly calm, putting emphasis on 'everyone else' to drive home his point.

Ron glared, "Look, I said I'm sorry! What more do you want?!"

Harry stared in to the youngest male Weasley's eyes, "First of all, Ronald, you never said you were sorry. All you did was make an excuse about how _everyone else _was talking behind my back. Secondly, what more do I want? I want a friend who's loyal, who's not going to abandon me at the first sign of trouble. Someone who won't care what _everyone else _thinks!" Harry finished with a hiss.

Harry had kept his voice a normal level, yet the whole hall had heard.

Hermione stood up with her bag, pulling Harry with her, she turned back to Ron after taking a few steps away from the table, and in a cold voice said, "I understand that loyalty isn't a dominant trait in you, as you aren't a Hufflepuff, but even a Slytherin wouldn't have abandoned a friend like that. Stopped showing support for them publicly, yes, but leave them floundering on their own and taunt them every chance they got? No."

She threw one last glare at Ron and walked out of the Great Hall beside Harry, leaving Ron at the Gryffindor table, his mouth gaping open and his face burning red.

A rush of noise filled the great hall as the doors to the Great Hall shut after the two retreating figures.

* * *

'_Dragons. The first task is dragons,' _Harry thought, stumbling back from the sight of the huge beasts. He and Hermione had gone down to meet Hagrid to relax for a bit after the encounter in the Great Hall, but Hagrid had been waiting for him at his hut.

Hermione had gone back to the castle because Hagrid had told her to make sure that Harry wasn't missed. Then he had turned around and started leading Harry past the Forbidden Forest.

Harry turned to walk back up the hill.

What was he going to do? How was he supposed to defeat a bloody _dragon_? They were huge, especially compared to him! The others had at least three more years of experience than him. He let his feet lead him, lost in his thoughts. There had to be something he could do.

Harry stopped, coming out of his thoughts.

He was at the second floor girl's bathroom, where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was. He had been meaning to go back and check out the chamber, but it hadn't been a priority, but now that he was here, he stepped inside. The bathroom had a few puddles on the floor, but was otherwise dry _'…and deserted,'_ he thought.

He walked up to the sink that had a snake engraved on it, **"Open."**

He looked around once more, before taking off his invisibility cloak and stuffing it into his pocket, before sliding down the tunnel. He walked through the tunnels to the main chamber; it was just like it had been, the basilisk lay still, with a whole in its mouth, the snake statues were still there – although some were destroyed – and a statue of Slytherin loomed overhead. Harry frowned there was something different. Harry looked around, trying to put his finger on it.

He suddenly realized what it was. When he had left with Ginny, two years ago, Salazar Slytherin's mouth had been left open, now it was closed. Harry frowned; he knew that there were no other Parselmouths except for him and Voldemort. Maybe it had closed on its own? Or was there perhaps something there.

He racked his brain, what had Riddle said to open Slytherin's mouth?

"**Salazar Slytherin."**

The statue rumbled and opened slightly, but not enough for Harry to go inside. He racked his brain, he knew it was longer; it was just on the edge of his tongue…

"**Salazar Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four."**

The statue rumbled and finally opened all the way. Harry turned his wand on himself, "Wingardium Leviosa," he muttered before he was lifted into the air. He floated himself up to the mouth and set himself gently down. No matter how much he'd gotten better at wandless magic, he was not taking any chances with a high drop like that.

As soon as he was inside, he knew there was more, for stretching out in front of him, was a corridor with three doors: one on each side and one at the end of the passageway.

He opened the first door and found a study filled with bookshelves all around the walls, which reached the ceiling and an open book on the old wooden desk with a quill sitting in the middle. There was a high-backed faded green chair behind the oak desk. The whole place was covered in dust and looked like it hadn't been used in years, which it probably hadn't been.

He opened the second door and found a bathroom. It was similar to the prefect's bathroom on the fourth floor, he'd never been, but had heard about it from some of the other male prefects.

He closed the second door and finally made his way to the third and last door. He opened the door and stepped inside to find two other doors. One was labeled Kitchens in faded gold writing and the other was labeled Exit.

He opened the exit by hissing **"Open,"** because it wouldn't open with a simple push, and peeked outside. His eyes widened as he saw where the door led out. He stepped outside and found himself behind the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy teaching trolls how to do ballet on the seventh floor… Harry grinned, which was near the Gryffindor common rom! He wondered if he could open the chamber from the portrait… He'd have to test it out when he left.

Harry went back inside, glad that he hadn't closed the door, and made his way back to the study.

He waved his wand in a sweeping gesture, "Scourgify!"

After a few more spells, all the dust was vanished; he browsed the books and pulled out a tome on wandless magic. He sat in the dust free chair and cracked open the old book, carefully keeping it on the table, so that it wouldn't get damaged. He'd use the time-turner to go see Hermione later.

* * *

After the revelation last night, Harry realized one thing: all the champions, except Cedric, knew about the Dragons in the first task. He turned the corridor and entered the Courtyard. He looked up from his book on Parselmagic, disguised as his transfiguration text, to see Cedric with a bunch of Hufflepuffs giggling at a joke he had made. He took a breath and walked over to them.

"Cedric, can we talk?" Harry asked, his gaze focused on Cedric and his expression serious.

Cedric looked at him, noting the seriousness in the younger boy's posture and nodded. They walked further away from the group before Harry stopped.

"What is it?" Cedric asked.

Harry took a deep breath, "The first task, we have to face a dragon."

Cedric laughed, "Good one, Harry! Haha…ha…ha."

His laugh died when he saw that Harry was completely serious, "You're not kidding?"

Harry shook his head, "Krum and Fleur already know, and I found out last night."

Cedric ran a hand through his chestnut locks, "I… Thanks, Harry."

Harry nodded, "It's only fair."

He turned and left Cedric to go back to his friends. He opened his book once more, his attention going back to the spells in Parseltongue that could overpower other spells in the human language. Just as he was about to go back in to the school, he bumped in to a hard chest. He startled and stumbled back a few steps; he looked up, only to come face to face with Malfoy. He mentally sighed; he didn't need this headache right now.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Harry asked, a bit of annoyance creeping in to his voice. He snapped the glamoured book shut, but before he could put it away, Malfoy snatched it from his hand.

Malfoy smirked, "Well, well Potty, didn't know you were such a book worm."

Harry's eyes flashed, a moment of panic flashed in his eyes; he couldn't let Malfoy see what was inside, before his expression straightened out once again. He snapped his wrist and willed the book to come back to his hand. The book flew from Malfoy's hand to his own, "Don't ever touch my things again, Malfoy." His tone was cold; he turned around and walked past the group of shocked Slytherins.

Malfoy snapped out of his shock and pulled out his wand.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" A roar came from the other side of the courtyard.

Harry turned around to see Moody, pointing his wand at a white ferret that lay twitching on the ground. Harry gasped in horror as Moody bounced the ferret up and down.

Just as it was about to hit the ground for the third time, Harry snatched the white ferret out of the air, he turned incredulous eyes on the defense professor, "What are you doing?"

Harry could feel the ferret shaking; it's tiny heart beating wildly against Harry's fingers. The ferret burrowed further in to Harry's chest, trying desperately to hide from the menace behind him.

"He was about to curse you behind your back, Potter," Moody growled, his wand still pointed at the ferret.

"And that's a reason to turn him in to a ferret? He's _fourteen,_ Professor," Harry said, by now everyone in the courtyard was watching the trio.

Moody growled, "You don't know his kind like I do, Potter, you don't know what his father may have taught him!"

"The worst he could've done, in a front of a large crowd of witnesses, was paralyze me or something else humiliating," Harry said.

When Moody opened his mouth to say more, Harry shook his head, "You are a teacher, not an Auror. Your job is to protect students, not turn them in to rats!"

The ferret squeaked indignantly at the word, but Harry just tapped its nose with a finger, a silent command for silence.

"I'll take him to Madame Pomphrey," Harry said as he spun on his heel and walked up to the Hospital Wing, not letting the Professor say another word.

On his way up he looked down at the ferret who was still burrowed in his chest, he chuckled, "You know Malfoy, you make a cute ferret, maybe I should keep you like this for a few days."

The ferret immediately straightened up and squeaked indignantly, though Harry could still see tremors racking its small body.

Harry chuckled once again and opened the doors to the Hospital Wing, "Honey! I'm home!" he shouted.

"Not funny," Madame Pomphrey scowled at his cheek, she pointed to his usual bed, "Sit. What's wrong?"

"Me? Oh no, I'm here for someone special," saying so, he held up the ferret in both of his hands, while it squeaked again.

Madame Pomphrey looked confused, "Unfortunately, Mr. Potter. I only look after wizarding children, there is a clinic in Hogsmeade that may suit your needs, or you may just take him to Hagrid."

Harry chuckled at the angry squeak the ferret made, "Ah, long story short, Malfoy here tried to curse me behind my back and Moody came along and turned him in to a ferret."

Her eyes widened as she took Malfoy from him, "Oh dear, well that man has always been curse first ask questions later," she shook her head, "Well, do me a favor and get Professor McGonagall for me."

Harry nodded a mischievous glint in his eyes, "Are you going to use the big needle to put him to sleep or the extra-large needle?"

The ferret's eyes grew wide as he made a loud chattering noise, struggling to get out of Madame Pomphrey's firm grip.

She scowled, "Go you little scamp. Mr. Malfoy! Calm down, there will be no needles."

Harry laughed as he walked out of the hospital doors; he stopped as he bumped in to Professor McGonagall.

"Ouch! Professor! I was just coming to get you," Harry said as he rubbed his nose.

McGonagall looked down at him, "I figured, I saw you walk off with Mr. Malfoy and heard what you said to Professor Moody."

Harry looked down sheepishly, "I just-"

"10 points to Gryffindor."

Harry looked up, wide-eyed, "What?"

"For standing up and defending your rival," McGonagall said, a small smile on her lips, "Now, come on, I'm sure Mr. Malfoy would like to thank you as well."

Harry stunned, just nodded and followed her in.

"Ah, Minerva," Madame Pomphrey said in greeting, "I assume you know of the situation?"

McGonagall nodded and took out her wand, "Set him on the bed, if you will Poppy."

Madame Pomphrey nodded and set the ferret on the bed, "There we are."

McGonagall swished her wand and silently muttered the spell, "There you are Mr. Malfoy."

Malfoy sat up wide-eyed; he clenched his hands and looked himself over.

Madame Pomphrey ran a few diagnostic spells over him and gave him a clean bill of health.

"I assume you'll be wanting to thank Mr. Potter, off you two go," McGonagall said.

The two boys nodded and left the Hospital Wing.

"Er…" Malfoy started awkwardly.

Harry smirked slyly and waved him off, "You owe me one, Malfoy."

He turned and walked back in to the Hospital Wing, leaving Malfoy Jr. gaping behind him.

"Madame Pomphrey?" He knocked on the Mediwitch's office door.

"Mr. Potter? Do you need something?"

Harry rubbed his head sheepishly, "Can I get a headache potion?"

Her brow furrowed in concern, "You have been taking care of yourself, correct? Or will I have to confine you in here for a few days?" she asked suspiciously.

Harry chuckled, "Nah, I'm totally fine, I just have a bit of a headache, what with all this tournament nonsense."

Madame Pomphrey gave him one more concerned look, before she went to the potions cabinet and grabbed the potion he wanted, before she handed it to him, she spoke, "You will come and see me if you are not feeling well, right?"

Harry nodded and smiled gratefully after he downed the potion.

* * *

Harry quickly tapped the emerald on his trunk and hissed, **"Nightshade."**

He swiftly climbed in and closed the trunk lid, locking it once more. For once, he was glad it was a Hogsmeade weekend and that Snape had banned him from going, because he and Ernie Macmillan were caught arguing, though he didn't get a detention like Ernie did. Thank Merlin for small mercies.

He quickly crossed the living room to his study where the fireplace was; he had business with the goblins to take care of.

Taking a pinch of floo powder from the small holder it was in, he threw it in to the fireplace and stepped in to the emerald flames, "Leaky Cauldron!"

He stumbled out of the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron; at least he hadn't fallen flat on his face.

"Hullo, there. Aren't ya supposed to be at school?" Tom the barman asked.

Harry smiled, "Hello Tom. No, it's a Hogsmeade weekend and I had some business to look into here, so I got permission from Professor Dumbledore."

"Ah, well, best be on your way then lad," Tom said, giving him a toothy grin.

After waving farewell, he made his way to the back. He knew by taking Dumbledore's name he was taking a risk, but it was also safest, considering if he'd taken one of the other professors' names it would be looked into. Many people put a lot of faith in Dumbledore and most didn't even blink twice.

He arrived at the big white marble building and nodded to the two goblin guards, they nodded back; no longer surprised that he did so. It was always best to be polite, and he had done so the first time he had been here and every time after that.

He walked up to an empty teller and waited for the goblin to look up.

"Yes?"

"I would like to see the Potter account manager, please," Harry said.

"Identification?"

Harry handed over his key. After the goblin examined it, he handed it back and rang the bell on his desk. Another goblin came to where they were.

"Follow Griphook and he will take you to the Potter account manager," the teller said, before dismissing him.

"Thank you," Harry said before following Griphook.

"Hello Griphook, it's been awhile," Harry said pleasantly.

What seemed like shock, flittered across the goblin's face, "You remember?"

He always loved shocking the goblins. Harry smiled, "Of course, you were the one who led me to my vault the first time I came here."

Griphook didn't say anything in response. He stopped at a door that was leading out of the big hall and pressed his hand to it.

He pushed it open and continued down the corridor, and through another door. They continued on, going through doors and twisting and turning through corridors, finally stopping at one that had a gold plaque that had the name _Anorak _engraved on it.

Griphook knocked twice on the door, they heard an "Enter," and Griphook led him inside the office.

"Thank you, Griphook," Anorak said, Griphook nodded and left.

"Mr. Potter, what can I do for you?" Anorak asked, once the younger goblin had closed the door.

"Hello, Anorak and I thought that we had agreed to you calling me Harry?" Harry said, the goblin smirked but nodded in acquiescence.

"I'd like to talk to you about my status. I've been entered in to a tournament for students that are of or above age, is it possible to claim my lordship now instead of when I turn 17?" Harry asked, getting straight down to business, "The Ministry, Dumbledore, and the other two heads of the other schools are all having me participate."

"Hmm," Anorak said as he sat back in his chair and thought about what he said, "I suppose you could, but to make sure, we would have to see if the Potter Lordship ring would accept you."

Harry nodded, "Can we do that now?"

Anorak nodded, "Yes, but first, we must confirm your identity, security measures, and also see if you have more than the one Potter inheritance."

After he got a nod from Harry, he summoned a blue tinted parchment and a red and black quill.

"This is a blood quill, as you write your full name, it will draw upon your blood and transfer it to the parchment, using your blood to then write out all of your inheritances if you have more than one."

Harry nodded and pulled the quill and parchment closer to him.

_Hadrian James Potter_

As he put the quill down, he saw his blood flash on the parchment and continue writing.

_Heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black_

_Heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter_

_Heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Peverell _

_Heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Gryffindor_

"Why is the House of Black first?" Harry asked.

"It is in the order of most recent to the oldest. You are an heir of Gryffindor first, because of it being the oldest, then Peverell, then Potter, and then Black, because you were named the heir to the Black fortune after your birth, though you probably could have gotten it anyways, being that your Grandmother and Godfather were both Blacks," Anorak said.

He noticed that Peverell was in black, while the rest was in red.

"What does that mean?"

Anorak took the parchment and looked it over, he muttered something, then walked over to the filing cabinet behind his desk, and opened the third drawer and dug around in it until he found what he was looking for.

"Ah, here it is, the Peverell family tree. Although you are descended from the Peverells, you are descended from the youngest son, Ignotus Peverell. Normally, a lordship is given to the oldest son, however, Antioch Peverell died before conceiving any heirs, so the lordship was passed on to Cadmus Peverell, and his heir is still alive, in the loosest of terms, but still living. We count you dead when your soul has left the earth or if you become a ghost, however, none of that has happened. You can claim the heir's ring for the Peverells, but not the lordship," Anorak explained.

Harry nodded, "What about the Black and Gryffindor lordships, isn't Sirius Black still alive?"

"As you know, Sirius Black named you his heir the day you were born. Since he was thrown in to Azkaban, his vaults remain locked and his lordship is revoked. So you can also claim that. As for the Gryffindor lordship, you are descended from the oldest daughter, but if you don't want to take it, it will go to the Longbottoms, as they are descended from the younger daughter or your own heir if you so choose."

"I'd like to claim the Potter, Black, and Gryffindor lordships now if possible and get the Peverell heir ring," Harry said, "Also, when I claim the lordships, I will be considered an adult, right?"

Anorak nodded. "Yes, it will be magically filed within the Ministry, you will be allowed to move out, get your apparition license, use magic outside of school, and take up your seat on the Wizengamot and the School Board of Governors as you are the Head of Gryffindor house," he said. He waved his hand and a black jewelry box with intricate gold designs and a slit at the top, came flying over to them.

Anorak took the small parchment and fed it into the slit, a flash of blue lit up the room and the parchment disappeared.

"Put your finger in to the key hole," Anorak instructed.

Harry felt a prick in his finger and blood being drawn out from his index finger.

The box clicked open and four rings lay on the soft black velvet.

Anorak pointed to each ring, "Gryffindor, Potter, Black, and Peverell."

Harry nodded, the Gryffindor ring had a gold band with the Gryffindor crest on it, and a miniature Hogwarts crest tucked in at the bottom. The Potter family also had a gold band and the Potter crest was engraved on a ruby in gold. The Black ring had an obsidian band with the family crest engraved on an amethyst in silver. Lastly, the Peverell heir ring was a thin silver band and had a circle inside a triangle with a line going through it vertically. The symbol was engraved in gold directly on to the band.

Anorak showed him how to merge the three lord rings – the Peverell Heir ring couldn't be merged because it wasn't a lord ring – and how he could choose which crest showed, there were four in all. The Gryffindor, the Black, the Potter, and then all three crests merged together to form one crest. He decided to wear the ring on his right hand's ring finger with the Potter crest showing and he decided to wear the Peverell Heir ring on his right hand's middle finger.

"I would also like a brief list of my holdings," Harry said, once he had gotten the merged ring arranged the way he wanted it.

Anorak nodded and opened another file and pulled out three pieces of parchment, "This is the Potter, Black, and Gryffindor holdings. I cannot show you the Peverell holdings, as you need permission from the Lord," Anorak explained.

Harry nodded. He looked over the Potters first.

_Trust Vault: _

_83,678 galleons 786 sickles 12 knuts_

_Potter Family Vault: _

_96,687,987 galleons 932,465 sickles _

_Family Heirlooms/Books:_

_7,894 items_

_Precious Gems/Jewelry:_

_5,609 items_

_Holdings:_

_Potter Manor_

_Godric's Hollow (In Ministry Holding)_

_Prongslets' Shadow Pad_

Harry was slightly surprised to see his trunk's address on there, but put it in the back of his mind.

"How much money does my trust vault get each year?" Harry asked.

"5,000 galleons each year until you turned 11, then 10,000 after that," Anorak replied, "That is including your recent purchases."

Harry nodded. He looked at the Black holdings next.

_Black Family Vault: _

_5,674,739,271 galleons 345,213 sickles _

_Family Heirlooms/Books:_

_17,989 items_

_Precious Gems/Jewelry:_

_19,769 items_

_Holdings:_

_12 Grimmauld Place_

_Black Manor_

Damn! Just with the Potter and Black vaults he was rich. He turned to the last parchment.

_Gryffindor Vault:_

_234,012 galleons 54,098 sickles _

_Family Heirlooms/Books:_

_14,786 items_

_Precious Gems/Jewelry:_

_769 items_

_Holdings:_

_¼ Hogwarts_

_ - Gryffindor Tower_

_ - Room of Requirement_

_ - ¼ Quidditch Pitch_

_ - Kitchens_

"How come there isn't as much in the Gryffindor Vault money wise as there is in the Potter and Black vaults," Harry asked.

"Since Gryffindor had two daughters and the families they married were each well off, they would use Gryffindor's name but not the contents of the vault. Occasionally, some would come and withdraw certain books or put in some things, but not much else," Anorak explained.

Harry nodded. He'd have to check out these properties as soon as he could, if he planned it just right, Dumbledore could not make him go to the Dursleys, Blood Wards be damned. Speaking of… "What about my Magical Guardian? Will Dumbledore have any power over me?" Harry asked.

Anorak shook his head, "No, other than when you are at school where his headmaster duties are, he has no power over you. When you accept your lordship, you are automatically emancipated, usually it doesn't matter as you are an adult when you turn 17, but occasionally, the head of a family dies before the heir has reached his or her majority and the lordship is taken up earlier."

Harry nodded. "Thank you Anorak. I think that is all for now. May your gold be prosperous and your enemies unfortunate," Harry said, knowing that the old greeting was a tradition that many wizards had forgotten.

Anorak smirked, "May your gold be prosperous and your enemies unfortunate."

Harry walked out of another door that led out straight to the entrance where all the tellers were. Harry wished that he could've used that door to get to the office, but knew it was a safety measure so that thieves or rival families couldn't get to a family's account information.

He cast a quick _'Tempus' _and saw that he still had half an hour left before he was missed. He quickly turned on his heel and walked to Ollivander's.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, what can I do for you?" Mr. Ollivander asked, coming out from behind the shelves.

"Hello, Mr. Ollivander, I was wondering if you sold wand-holsters?"

Ollivander nodded, "Ah, yes, I was wondering when you'd come get one. You had already been ushered out before I could offer the first time."

Harry nodded, Hagrid had been a little freaked out and took him out as soon as was possible without appearing rude.

"Yes, well Hagrid wasn't feeling too well," Harry replied, chuckling slightly.

Ollivander nodded, he pulled out three different holsters. "There are three different types. There's the standard student model, which just keeps a hold of your wand; then there's the adult model, with anti-summoning charms; and lastly, there is the Auror model, it has anti-theft, anti-summoning, and recall charms on it. So even if you drop your wand, it won't hit the ground, your wand will be suspended 3 inches from the tips of your fingers and it'll shoot back in to your hand," Ollivander explained.

Harry nodded, "I'll take the Auror model and is it only available in brown?"

Ollivander shook his head, "Tell me the colors and I'll charm it on. One for the leather, the other for the stitching, of course."

Harry considered the holster before saying, "I want navy blue for the leather and silver for the stitching."

Ollivander nodded and put the three models away before going to the back and taking out a newly wrapped holster, he took out the new holster from it's wrapping and with his wand, muttered a spell, then he handed it over to Harry, who examined it and nodded. He strapped the holster to his lower right arm.

"How much?" Harry asked.

"15 galleons."

Harry nodded, he paid for the holster, bidding Ollivander a farewell, he left the old shop and back to the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace.

"Prongslets' Shadow Pad," Harry said, making sure that Tom's attention was elsewhere, then, once he had stepped in to the emerald green flames, he muttered, "Padfoot," under his breath, before he was whisked away.

* * *

Harry sat in the tent as he waited for his turn. His eyes were closed and he was meditating… or at least, trying to. The noise of the crowd, however muted, made it hard to concentrate. Fleur had just finished and Krum was waiting for his signal.

'Relax, Harry, you have a plan and if one fails, you have two other back ups,' Harry thought, calming himself slightly.

He stood up as the crowd roared again and he knew Krum had finished. A big boom signaled for his turn.

Holding his head high with blood pounding in his ears, he walked towards the arena floor, out of the tent and to the cheers, and boos, of the crowd.

"BEGAN!" Boomed Bagman's voice as cheers once more erupted.

He quickly hid behind a rock and raised his wand, making sure to speak in a low voice, he said, "Accio Golden Egg!"

He peeked out from behind the large rock, the egg didn't move, Harry sighed, he had half expected it to work, but hadn't been too hopeful, even if most wizards didn't have an ounce of logic, it didn't mean that _all_ of them didn't. Plan A was a failure.

Well, on to Plan B. The dragon hadn't done anything except watch him, for now, but he didn't know how much longer that would last.

His eyes narrowed as he concentrated, imagining speaking to a snake, **"Accio Golden Egg!" **However, he still kept his voice down, so the crowd couldn't hear the hissing over their murmurs. It wouldn't do for the reporters to find out he was a Parselmouth. While it wasn't exactly a secret, no one but the students, third year and above, the staff, and probably some of the parents, knew; and he'd rather keep it that way.

The egg trembled a bit but, after a moment, it flew from the nest and in to his outstretched hand.

As soon as the egg hit his hand, cheers erupted from the crowd. Though there were many confused faces as to what spell he used. The dragon roared as she saw the egg fly over to him and let out a stream of fire. The dragon handlers all rushed in to try and calm the dragons.

Harry sighed in relief as he was pulled in to the medical tent to be checked over by Madam Pomfrey. He was glad that had worked; after all, he wasn't too fond of _Accio-_inghis Firebolt and then flying around the dragon, trying to get at the egg. Although, he could have tried floating the egg over to him using Wingardium Leviosa, but that ran the risk of being too slow, especially if the dragon's response was any indication.

After getting a clean bill of health from Madam Pomfrey, he was sent out to get his score.

"Before we give the score," Dumbledore began, "Could we know the spells you used so that we may judge accordingly?"

"I used the summoning charm," Harry stated, 'just not in the language you're thinking of,' he thought.

Some of the judges spluttered, but most retained their composures, he saw Sprout and McGonagall trying to hide smiles, while Flitwick was outright grinning.

"W-well," Ludo said, slightly stuttering in surprise, "Judges?"

Dumbledore shot a 9 in to the air with a smile. Next to him, Madam Maxine shot a 7 in to the air, and then Karkaroff shot a 4 in to the air. After him, Barty Crouch Sr. shot a 7 in to the air, and finally, Ludo Bagman shot a 10 in the air.

'_37? Not bad, I was expecting something a lot lower, but I guess I didn't get injured or hurt the other eggs,' _Harry thought.

"Now, Champions! Your Golden Egg will hold the clue for the next task which will be held on the 24th of February, more will be said closer to the date of the task itself," Ludo Bagman said.

* * *

"Harry! You were brilliant! And did you see the looks on the judges faces!" Ron said as he pushed past the partying students to get to where Harry and Hermione were in the common room.

Before Harry could give a reply, Hermione glared at Ron, "I thought you knew that we were no longer friends, Weasley."

As Ron was about to open his mouth, Fred and George came over to them and pulled Harry up. They handed him the golden egg, then hoisted him up on their shoulders.

"Guys?" Harry asked, his eyes wide.

"Ladies and Gents!" George began.

"The Great-" Fred took over.

"Brilliant-" George added in.

"Champion-" Fred said.

"Has to open-" George continued.

"His prize!" They both finished saying together.

Harry laughed and held up the egg, still on the twins' shoulders, "You want me to open this?"

The Gryffindor common room lit up with cheers from all the students.

Harry grinned, his eyes sparkling mischievously, "What? I can't hear you!"

This time the common room roared with approval.

"Okay, here goes," Harry said, as he turned the latch…

A horrible screeching sound filled the room, making Fred and George drop him gently to the ground, before covering their ears. Harry quickly slammed the egg closed.

Dean was the first to speak, "What the hell?"

Harry snickered before bursting into laughter at the looks he saw coming from around the common room, before he was ensconced between the twins once more.

"Harry!" Fred said.

"If you're-"

"Laughing, that-"

"Means you-"

"Knew what-"

"Was going to happen!" They finished together in an accusing tone, although their eyes held humor.

Harry laughed some more, "Guys, I had to face a dragon to get this, you really think it's going to be a children's rhyme that's held in here?"

Snorts were heard from around the room at the ridiculousness of that statement, but before anything more could be said, the portrait hole opened up and the students saw their Head of House standing there with her arms crossed.

"All of you go to bed. Now."

No one dared to disobey as everyone trudged up the stairs and to their own beds.

* * *

Harry sighed as he settled in the study that was in the Chamber of Secrets with a book on Occlumency. He had learned many things from the books here, especially with the time-turner. However, he wasn't making much progress on this particular branch of magic anymore. He had made barriers and defenses, but he needed a Legilimens to see if they could actually hold up.

The good thing about Occlumency was that his mind was a lot more organized and he had an easier time remembering theories and spells. His grades were rising in class. Before he had been average, with the exception of DADA, but now, he was catching up with Hermione in his other classes as well, although potions was a different story.

Even if Snape no longer despised him outright, he was still harder on him than the other students, even if he had gotten better in potions. Thanks to the book on potions basics he had gotten over the summer, he was no longer a danger to the other students.

He shook his head out of his thoughts and put the Occlumency book down on his desk and looked at the book on Animagi that was beside it. He had ordered the potion used to find out if he had an animagus form, he didn't want to make it himself, no matter how much he had improved in potions, he still wasn't that good, and the Animagi potion was rather complicated.

It was supposed to arrive by the end of the month as he had ordered it from out of the country. If he did have an Animagus form, he didn't want to be registered.

He looked at the desk that was littered with books. It was on all types of magic, not just Dark, but also on Light and Neutral magics. With the help of these books he had gained a better understanding of Dark magic. At first, he hadn't known what to think, how could healing be dark?

Gradually, as he read more and more, he understood what Dark and Light really meant, and what the Dark and Light really meant to the Ministry and the Wizarding World, and with that, he understood what Voldemort had said at the end of first year.

'_There is no good and evil, only power and those too weak to seek it,'_ Harry remembered, but he shook his head, although he understood what Voldemort was saying, he didn't agree with that, to him it was similar but not the same.

'_There is no Dark, no Light, only Magic and the intent behind it.'_

Once Harry had accepted this, he realized how many restrictions he had placed on himself, and now, how many restrictions he was free of. Magic was just Magic. With this thought in mind, his wandless magic became easier, even as he stopped using the words and simply worked with his intent.

He closed his eyes, letting his thoughts whirl around his head and dozed off.

* * *

Emerald: Here's the second chapter! Thank you to everyone who Reviewed/Faved/Followed, seeing all those emails fills my heart with joy! I can't wait till I upload chapter 4 *hint, hint*

Review/Fav/Follow!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

"Talking"

_'Thinking' _

**"Parseltongue"**

_Harry Writing_

_Tom Writing_

* * *

During breakfast a few days after the first task, a large eagle-owl swooped in to the Great Hall followed by the usual owls delivering the morning mail.

The large bird landed beside Harry, a plain brown package with a card that had a cauldron with a wand pointed downward above it, was tied to the leg. Harry grinned, recognizing the symbol of the apothecary in which he'd ordered from on the card.

He took the package and put it to the side, careful not to drop it. He fed the owl some bacon and gave it some water, before the owl nipped his fingers in thanks and flew off.

"What's that?" Hermione asked, curiously.

"Hm? Oh this?" Harry asked gesturing to the package, before picking it up and standing to leave, "Just something I ordered. I'll meet you later for our first class."

He grinned and left a pouting Hermione behind.

He hurried up to the second floor girl's bathroom, where the entrance to the chamber was located. He had found out that you couldn't open the chamber from the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy, which was only an exit. The only way to enter the chamber was the bathroom.

He decided to use the time-turner after he spent the day in the chamber; he was too excited to see his animagus form to wait.

"Hello Harry, what are you doing here?" A voice came from behind him, he turned around and saw Myrtle as she came out of her cubicle, her hands going up to wipe at her cheeks.

Harry's eyes softened and he smiled, he never liked seeing people cry, "Hello Myrtle, now, now, what's that for? You shouldn't cry, you're much prettier when you're smiling."

Her cheeks darkened in to the ghostly form of a blush and she giggled, she swiftly went back in to her toilet with a loud splash.

Harry shook his head; Myrtle was always shy. He looked at the tap and hissed out an, **"Open," **making the sinks rumble. He slid down the pipe, belatedly hissing out a, **"Close."**

He made his way to Slytherin's study. He took out the Animagus manual and flipped through it to the page where it was listed of what to do with the potion.

Harry sat down in the chair, he gently unwrapped the small box and inside, suspended in the middle, was a vial of silvery-blue animagus potion.

According to the book, he was supposed to take the potion, and then he had to start to meditate. He would then go in to a trance and in the trance his animal would appear.

Harry took the potion, then he walked around the desk and sat crisscross on the rug and leaned back so his back rested on the front of the desk. He went in to his meditative trance.

He didn't know how long it had been, but after awhile, fog crept in to his mind, filling his head. A black shape formed in the mist. He craned his neck, trying to get a better look, the shape was big, it had four legs, he looked upwards and saw sharp teeth, as it opened it's mouth and a large bushy tail was swaying behind it. Harry gasped, finally recognizing what he was seeing, before the image faded, leaving him drowsy.

He stumbled his way to the comfy chair behind the desk and promptly fell asleep.

* * *

Harry jerked awake and looked around. It took a full minute for his brain to register what happened, then a full-blown grin formed on his face. He could become an animagus! He had been worried for a bit when the book had warned that not everyone could become an animagus, but he could!

He suddenly remembered that he had been asleep and it would be wise to check the time, he quickly muttered a, "Tempus," and waved his hand, '12:46 pm' came up in glowing silver letters. Harry sighed; he'd been asleep for a good five hours. He decided to start on the next step.

_Once you know the animal in which your animagus form will take, you must have another person learn these two spells, the first is for forcing you to go in to your animagus form; the second is to take you out of your animagus form. You must learn both spells before attempting the transformation._

_*Caution: The second person must cast the second spell under 10 minutes, because the longer you remain in your animagus form, the harder it will be to transform you back._

_After you have completed the second step, you may start trying to transform each part of your body in to a part of your animagus form. For example, if your animagus form is a dog or cat, then you must try to first turn your hands in to paws, or on a smaller level, your nails in to claws. If your animagus form is a type of bird, try to transform your feet in to talons, or try to grow feathers on your arms. The most important thing about this step is to remember how you felt when you were temporarily in your animagus form by use of the first spell._

_*Caution: You must not try this step before having the spell-induced transformation, if you do, you may be stuck in that stage forever if you managed it. If you did not manage the transformation, but still try to force your body to go through with it, your body may become unstable as your magic will react and will try to transform at random times, causing as much pain as the cruciatus curse._

Harry's head flopped down on to the book. He needed another person. Great. He glared at the book; it was like it was trying to make sure that he couldn't do it alone.

Harry sighed and decided to work on some of the less complicated Parselmagic spells that he had yet to master and then he could work on his wandless abilities, while a lot better, he could always use the practice. In the mean time, perhaps he could ask someone to help him out, perhaps Fred or George…

* * *

"Gryffindors! Quiet," McGonagall called out as she entered the portrait hole.

All the Gryffindors, fourth year and above that were gathered in the common room, fell silent.

"As I announced today in each of your Transfiguration classes, the Yule Ball will be held at Hogwarts and I will not have my lions making a fool of themselves! Dance classes will be held and attendance is mandatory! Classes will be held on the weekends, the times are after lunch until one hour before dinner. You will report to the transfiguration classroom," McGonagall said, getting groans from the boys and giggles from the girls.

* * *

Harry and Hermione made their way to the Transfiguration classroom, where they saw that all the tables and chairs were cleared to leave a big empty space.

Harry mock groaned and made to turn around, but Hermione grabbed his arm before he could make his escape and dragged him in to the room where the boys and girls sat on opposite sides, there were quite a few students already there.

"Hermione!" Harry whined, looking at her with glistening green eyes, knowing that she wouldn't be able to resist. At first, he had resented being called cute, but then he had begun to turn that cuteness into a weapon.

Hermione had a smile on her lips that she tried to hide unsuccessfully, "Come on, Harry! It's not so bad!"

"Yes it is!"

Hermione giggled before gently pushing Harry towards the boys' side before going to sit with the girls. Harry was a little surprised when she engaged Lavender and Parvati in a conversation.

Harry pouted as he went to take his place below the twins, but before he could sit down, the twins pulled him up to sit between them.

"Aw! Don't pout, Harrykins!" George said, swinging an arm over his shoulders.

"It won't be that bad," Fred said, slipping his own arm around Harry's waist, making it so that Harry was thoroughly sandwiched in between them.

Harry playfully tried to get away as he stretched out his arms, "Nooooo!" although his eyes gave away his mirth.

"Too late!" The twins chorused together.

Harry laughed.

McGonagall strode in to the room, dragging Ron behind her, and automatically all talking stopped, though Fred and George didn't remove their arms from their positions and Harry didn't mind.

"Alright, since everyone is finally here," she glared at Ron who shrunk back, "We will start."

The next 10 minutes were spent explaining and demonstrating how to do a classic waltz. Unfortunately for Ron, and to the amusement of everyone else, he was caught snickering and had to demonstrate the waltz with McGonagall.

Harry muffled his laughter in his hands, his shoulders shaking, whereas Fred and George didn't bother to muffle their own laughter, and made catcalls in between their laughter.

In between gasps of breath at Ron's red face, Harry said, "You are never going to let him forget this, are you?"

The twins grinned, "Never," they chorused, which brought on another bout of laughter.

Apparently, McGonagall took mercy on Ron and finally stopped, Harry almost pouted, "Alright, now, everyone grab a partner, and start dancing."

Fred and George got up, finally letting go of Harry. Harry sighed as none of the boys had moved besides standing up, except Fred and George, who were stretching.

Harry rolled his eyes as he went towards Hermione, he gave her a sweeping bow, and a charming smile, "May I have this dance, milady?" He teased jokingly.

Hermione laughed, "Of course, kind sir."

Harry laughed and took her hand, spinning her around and leading her to the center of the room.

Fred was next, taking Angelina's hand, and George with Alicia. Seeing the three boys on the floor dancing, the other boys took their cue and started asking the girls to dance.

"Wow, Harry, you aren't that bad for someone who has never danced before," Hermione complimented.

"Of course, there's a book about dancing in the library," Harry said, hiding a smile.

Hermione's eyes widened, "Really?"

Harry snickered, "Nope."

"Harrrrrry!" Hermione said, dragging out his name.

Harry lifted a shoulder in a shrug, "At the Dursleys' I always had to be quiet and swift without dropping anything, so in a way, I guess that made me more graceful, which really helps," Harry said, "Plus, I was paying attention."

Hermione laughed, "I bet, I almost feel sorry for Ron."

"Only almost?" Harry asked.

"Of course! He deserved it," Hermione said.

Harry looked at her innocently, Hermione suddenly grew vary, "What?" she asked, almost reluctantly, not really wanting to know, but still had to.

"Even if you have a crush on him?" Harry whispered in her ear, before suddenly letting go of her waist and twirling her around.

Hermione gasped, "What!" she said, slightly louder than she meant, causing a few heads to turn towards them. She blushed and ducked her head.

Harry laughed, before catching her waist again, "Oh come on! It's not that hard to figure out!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed, "I can't keep anything from you, can I?"

Harry smiled, "Nope! That's what happens when you've been best friends for four years!"

Hermione shook her head, as they slowed a bit more, "I used to," she admitted.

"Used to?" Harry prompted, seeing as this was something that she had wanted to talk about for some time.

Hermione nodded, "Yeah, but at first, I didn't even believe that I liked him like that, you know? I mean, he was so dense and so-so…"

"Idiotic?" Harry asked.

Hermione smiled, "lazy. He was nothing that I was looking for in someone, but then I started liking all those things about him… But then, he ditched you!"

"Hermione," Harry said softly, "Just because I'm not friends with him, doesn't mean that you can't be. I won't hold it against you, and I won't stop being your friend because of that."

Hermione smiled, "Thanks Harry, but you didn't let me finish. I realized that if he could throw away a friendship of four years that started even before you got to Hogwarts, due to his jealousy, then what would happen if I were in a situation similar to yours? Would he break up with me just because everyone else doesn't like me, or if I was friends with another boy and everyone thought we were together?"

Harry's eyes widened, "Wow, you've thought about this, haven't you?"

Hermione nodded, "Yeah, the first couple of days after he ditched you, I was asking myself how could he do this to you? And then I realized, that this was just a crush, there would be more boys and it would go away sooner or later. As soon as I realized all of this, it stopped hurting and well, anger settled in." Hermione shrugged.

Harry grinned, "Ah, that explains it!"

Hermione laughed.

* * *

Harry twisted in his sheets as sweat trickled on his brow.

|Dream|

"Barty," A voice hissed from a small floating chair in the room, "How isss the tournament going?"

"My lord, Potter is tied in second place with the Diggory boy," A dirty blonde-haired man said, from where he was kneeling on the floor.

"I sssee," the first voice hissed, "Make sure that all goes according to plan and that he does not fail or you shall be punished."

"Yes, My lord," Barty said.

|Dream End|

Harry awoke with the sheets twisted around him. Voldemort. He was the reason that he was placed in the tournament. But why go through all that trouble? Why not just have Barty kidnap him, he was obviously capable of sneaking in to the school if he put his name in the Goblet. Why not just slip him a portkey?

He was missing something; he was sure, but what?

Should he tell Dumbledore?

He bit his lip, thinking on that. No. It wouldn't do any good. Dumbledore was always absent until the last moment; he'd have to go through the tournament anyway. Except… His mind turned to the diary nestled in his trunk. A vague plan started forming in his mind, before a yawn interrupted him, forcing its way out.

He'd think about it in the morning. His head hit the pillow and he was out like a light.

* * *

Harry was wandering the halls after lunch, when he bumped in to a girl with long blonde hair that reached her waist in ringlets, silvery-blue eyes that gave her a soft look, pale skin and a heart-shaped face. She wore radish earrings and a Butterbeer bottle cap necklace. She wore the standard Ravenclaw uniform, but was barefoot.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Harry apologized as he helped her stand up, the young girl looked to be about Ginny's age.

"Oh, it's okay," she said in a dreamy voice, as she dusted of her robes.

"Are you okay…?" Harry asked, letting the end hang so he could find out her name.

She gave a smile that said her head was in the clouds, "Luna, Luna Lovegood."

Harry gave her a soft smile, "Harry Potter."

"I know," she said, before skipping off in the other direction.

That was the first time he had met Luna Lovegood.

* * *

Harry stretched and yawned; he decided to get something to eat before he headed off to bed. He walked out of the study and towards the door that said _Kitchens_.

He pushed open the door and found himself surrounded by house-elves. He smiled kindly, "Hello, I was wondering if I could get something to eat?"

A female house-elf ran over to him and led him to a table, "Yous sit here and Mixy be bringing yous food, what would yous like?" Mixy said, hopping around excitedly.

"Some Shepherd's Pie would be great," Harry said tiredly. He had given Dobby a free day today, so he wasn't here. Harry mentally berated himself, he was getting lazy.

"You shouldn't be too hard on yourself, you have a lot to do," A dreamy voice floated to him. Harry's eyes widened and he whipped around, but relaxed when he saw who it was, though only slightly.

"Luna, hello," Harry smiled and gestured to the seat opposite him on the table.

Luna hummed and walked over to the other side and took the seat, flopping her bag down beside her.

Mixy popped up then and served them Shepherd's Pie with a goblet of pumpkin juice for each of them.

"Thank you," Harry and Luna said, as they both dug in to the delicious meal prepared for them.

"What did you mean when you said I have a lot to do?" Harry asked, after they had both finished their meals and were now sipping pumpkin juice.

"You have a lot of Wrackspurts around you, but they're different from the normal ones," Luna replied, her face not once slipping from its dreamy expression.

"Wrackspurts?" Harry questioned curiously.

"Oh yes, they're invisible. They float in through your ears and make your brain go fuzzy," Luna commented.

"Those are the normal ones, right?" He asked.

Luna nodded.

"Then what about the ones you see around me?"

"Oh, those are the more decisive ones, they keep your brain from solving a particularly hard puzzle," Luna replied, "It's quite curious, actually."

His eyes narrowed as he thought over her words. Harry cocked his head as what she said earlier came to him, "Wait, if they're invisible, how come you can see them?"

Luna blinked in surprise, her dreamy mask slipping from her face for a moment before she pulled herself back together. Everyone had always just dismissed her whenever she spoke, but now, here was someone who actually thought about what she said and replied in kind. No one had ever bothered to ask her how _she_ could see them, true, they made taunts at her, but, that was all they did, most didn't even listen to her, but here was someone who was seriously considering her.

A small smile came upon her face, not the dreamy one she always wore, but a genuine smile, "Because I can. You are very different, Harry Potter, you have given me a chance, and so, I will give you some advice," Luna said, her voice turning from slightly dreamy to complete seriousness, "You have many choices ahead of you, Harry Potter, be careful, do not always trust. Beware of the one you least expect, friend of the one your faith is shaken in, for he is not true to the other, but true to his alleged enemy."

"Goodbye, Harry Potter, I do hope your plans go well," with those last words, Luna picked up her bag and vanished from the kitchen, before Harry could even speak.

"Wait…" The word died on his lips as the door to the kitchen closed.

That was the second time he had met Luna Lovegood.

* * *

"Hello ladies," Harry greeted as he came over to the two girls who were sitting in a corner of the common room.

"Harry," they both smiled.

"Lavender, Parvati, I need a bit of information," Harry said, a charming smile on his lips. He had first talked to Lavender a few days after the first task, well, it wasn't really talking, it was more like comforting.

_-Flashback-_

_Harry turned the corner of the dark corridor and he immediately wished he had gone the other way. He could hear sobbing in the darkness, he thought about ignoring it, but dismissed the thought. He sighed and walked towards the sound. He wondered who could be out this late besides himself._

_He saw a figure huddled in the corner, the moonlight illuminating their small silhouette. He slowly walked up to the figure, which he recognized as a girl because of her long brown hair. _

"_Hey, are you okay?" Harry asked, laying a hand on her shoulder._

_The girl jerked, startled. _

"_H-Harry?" She sniffled as she peered up at the boy holding out a hand to help her up._

"_Lavender? Are you okay? Why are you crying?"_

_A fresh wave of tears overcame her and she flung herself at him, making him take a step back so as not to topple over._

"_Lavender?" Harry asked. He felt uncomfortable comforting someone, he wasn't really sure what to do, he shifted slightly, but she just clutched harder at him. He led her to the corner she was in and gently settled on the ground, while maneuvering her so she lay on his side with her head on his chest. He wound an arm around her waist and another gently stroked her hair._

_They sat together in the silent corridor, one comforting, and the other sobbing. After awhile, her sobs quieted and she straightened up._

"_Lavender? You okay?" _

_She nodded, wiping away her tears and smearing her mascara even more. _'She's okay, so just go,' _Harry thought._

"_Do you want to talk about it?" _'No! Shut up mouth, stop talking! Please don't say yes, please don't say yes,' _Harry wished he had a better filter for his mouth. He really did not want to be here._

_Lavender smiled like she could guess what he was thinking and he immediately felt guilty. _

"_It's okay Harry, I don't expect you to do more," Lavender said, giggling when Harry sighed in relief, "Most boys wouldn't even do what you did, they probably would've just turned right around or ignored it."_

_Harry shifted guiltily, because he had thought to do the same thing, instead of commenting on that, he said, "Why don't we go back to the common room?"_

_Lavender nodded. Harry stood up and pulled her up. The walk back to the common room was quiet. As they neared the portrait of the Fat Lady, Lavender stopped him with a hand on his arm._

_Harry turned, a question in his eyes._

_Lavender smiled, "Thank you Harry."_

_Harry opened his mouth to say something, but Lavender hushed him._

"_Let me finish, please. Thank you for helping me, for holding me and letting me cry in to your robes. I know you probably felt uncomfortable, but you stayed. So, thank you."_

_Harry nodded and awkwardly pulled her in to a hug, "No problem."_

"_Lavender!" Parvati looked up as the two came in and rushed over to her best friend._

"_Oh, darling! I'll gut that bastard, then I'll cut off his dick with a blunt spoon and-" _

_Harry winced and felt pity for the guy Parvati was talking about._

"_Parvati! It's okay, I'm fine," Lavender said, reassuring her best friend._

_Harry quietly slipped away as the girls continued talking._

_-Flashback End-_

After that, he had found out that helping Lavender had put him in the good books of both the girls and he had also found that the two Gryffindor Gossip Queens were a well of information.

"Sure Harry, what do you need?" Lavender asked.

"I need all the information you can find on Luna Lovegood."

* * *

Harry leaned back in his seat, his eyes fixed on the books in the library, his thoughts on the young blonde. Luna Lovegood may act dreamy, but there was more to her. Her façade had slipped the last time he met her and that, in and of itself, said a lot. He frowned as he pondered over the info Lavender and Parvati had given him concerning the blonde third year. Apparently, she always had her head in the clouds.

He frowned, many called her Loony, and mostly, it was the girls that usually bullied her, but occasionally, there were some boys. Her main bullies seemed to be Cho Chang and her gang. He'd had a huge crush on Cho, and – had he not met Luna and looked into her – he would've asked her to the Yule Ball, but he had an extreme dislike of bullies. Mostly Luna's bullies would take her stuff and hide it from her, it was the reason she was barefoot when he first met her.

He had never seen Luna with any friends. When he asked about that, Parvati had said that Ginny was Luna's only friend. However, being in different houses, they didn't hang out much together, plus Ginny had other friends, as well.

"Harry?"

Hermione's voice brought him out of his thoughts; he looked over to her and smiled, erasing the frown from his face, "Hm?"

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked worriedly.

Harry shook his head, "Nothing," when Hermione gave him a look, he continued, "It's nothing with me, it's just," he sighed.

Hermione waited patiently.

"Do you remember your first year?" Harry asked instead, "Before the troll on Halloween?"

Hermione nodded, "What about it?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair, "Imagine being that way for three years, give or take a few weeks, with a friend that is in another house and said friend has other friends, too."

Hermione's eyes widened, suddenly, she knew without asking, what he was referring to. The feeling of being alone… Before coming to Hogwarts, she hadn't had any friends. The kids, who had tried to befriend her, would always just be with her so that she would do their homework or let them cheat off of her. When they realized she wouldn't do it, they turned on her and made fun of her.

"Harry? Who are you talking about?" Hermione asked.

Harry got up from his spot, "Do me a favor," he said instead. When Hermione nodded, he continued, "Keep an open mind."

With that he walked out of the library, he took out the Marauder's Map.

"I solemnly swear, I'm up to no good."

"I wouldn't say that," a dreamy voice said from behind him.

"Mischief Managed," Harry said, putting his wand and the map away, he turned around and smiled, "I was just going to look for you."

Luna smiled, "I know."

Harry beckoned her in to the library, "Come on, I want you to meet someone."

Luna smiled her dreamy smile and skipped after him.

"Hermione?" Harry called, pulling his friend out of her book, "Meet Luna Lovegood."

Hermione's eyes lit up with recognition and she gave a smile, "Hello, Luna, it's nice to meet you."

"Hello Hermione, I can tell we'll have a lot to argue about," Luna smiled.

Hermione looked taken aback, Harry hid his smile with his hand, however both girls could see the mirth in his eyes. He pulled out a seat for Luna and she nodded, before taking the seat. Harry took his own seat, before looking seriously at Luna.

"Luna-"

But she shook her head, "It's okay, Harry, I'm used to it."

"You didn't even know what he was going to say," Hermione said, her eyes fixed curiously on the new addition, but there was no malice or accusation in her tone, and Luna seemed to realize this as she gave Hermione a smile.

"I can guess; it's been coming for some time, even if we've only met twice before this. He was going to ask about the kids who take my things, it's not a problem, my things always come back at the end of the year," Luna said, her eyes holding a hint of sadness.

"Harry," Hermione started, her honey-brown eyes not leaving Luna's silvery-blue, "Could you give us a minute?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded as he packed up his things, "I'll see you both at dinner?" he asked.

Hermione nodded as he turned and left.

"Hermione-" Luna started, but Hermione cut her off.

"You know, growing up, I learned that a lot of people don't like to do anything, they'd rather push it off on someone else. They always try to take advantage of the people around them, and if they don't get their way, then they turn cruel," Hermione said.

"Children can be cruel," Luna said, "But they are children, so it is okay."

"No," Hermione shook her head, "It isn't okay. Because if you don't teach children right from wrong, when they are older they will become worse. They will never have that balance that is needed between kindness and cruelty."

Luna remained quiet, her eyes on the table.

Hermione reached across the table and took one of Luna's hands in both of hers, "Do you want to know what I think?"

Luna looked up in to compassionate honey-brown eyes.

"I think that you are hiding behind a mask of dreaminess, so that you don't get taken advantage of, and there's nothing wrong with that, however, too long wearing that mask, and sooner or later, you won't know where the mask begins and where it ends. You've let your mask completely take you over, so now, that sadness that you felt isn't a problem anymore, because you've learnt to live with it, and that's not how it's supposed to be. Everyone deserves to be happy," Hermione said gently.

She herself had almost become one with her mask of indifference, however, in her first year, Harry and Ron had managed to snap her out of it, but before that, her parents had tried to keep her from burying herself in her books completely, but even they could only do so much and just barely succeeded.

Luna remained quiet, Hermione waited patiently, she knew that the message had to sink in.

"But what can I do?" Luna asked quietly, "There's nothing that I can do, there are so many of them and only one of me. Plus, this mask also protects me from people who could take advantage of me."

Hermione smiled, "Let Harry and I help you, and I promise, they won't bother you anymore. We'll protect you."

Luna searched Hermione's eyes for the truth, she was afraid to trust, if she took a chance, and they betrayed her, she would fall over the edge. She knew that. It had been a long time since she put her trust in someone, but she had a feeling that if she trusted Hermione, she could be happy. And, she wanted this so much, to have friends, to trust in someone again.

Luna took a deep breath and nodded, "Okay."

* * *

"Harry!" Hermione squealed as she ran in to the common room and over to the fireplace.

"Wake up!" Hermione said as she shook his shoulders.

"Huh, wah?" Harry asked, groggily, he looked down and saw his History of Magic textbook, then looked up to see Hermione standing over him.

Harry yawned, "What?"

"Not here, come on," Hermione said as she pulled him from the common room and in the direction of the library, but Harry shook his head, and led her down to the Kitchens.

"Alright, what is it?" Harry asked after he had a plate of treacle tart in front of him.

Hermione rolled her eyes, she waited for him to take a bite before saying, "Viktor Krum just asked me to the Yule Ball!"

Harry choked, "Shit!

Hermione patted his back, "Language! It isn't that strange!" she huffed indignantly.

Harry shook his head, "No, not that! I don't have a date!"

Hermione face-palmed, "Of course! Did you even listen to what I said?"

Harry raised an eyebrow; "Surely it isn't that shocking that he's asked you, I mean, he's only been stalking you since the ball was announced!"

Hermione crossed her arms, "He wasn't stalking me! He was just getting up the courage to ask me!"

Harry snorted, "Suuuure."

* * *

"Hello Luna," Harry said, as he came and sat at the Ravenclaw table during lunch.

Almost all the students who were around them stopped talking at once, and the sudden silence from the Ravenclaw table spread until the whole hall was silent, every eye on them.

Luna smiled, "Hello Harry, did you want something?"

Harry nodded, taking Luna's hand in his own, "You see, I was just thinking that I don't have a date for that pesky Yule Ball thing that I have to go to, and I want someone interesting and beautiful with me, because if I just go for a pretty face, then I'm afraid the night will be dreadfully boring. So, I was wondering, if you would like to accompany me?" Harry asked, with a charming smile.

Luna giggled, "I'd be delighted to."

Harry nodded as he stood up, he held out his left hand, palm facing up, then he took his right hand's index finger and drew it in a circular motion and slowly drew his finger upward, in it's place appeared a green stem, then two leaves, and finally, he drew all his fingers together then let go. His hands at the sides – as if holding a ball – and in the middle floating between them, was a magnificent red rose.

"Until then, beautiful lady," Harry said as he kissed the back of her hand with his right and floated the rose over to her with his left. With one last charming smile, he walked back to the Gryffindor table among the catcalls from the Weasley twins and their friend Lee Jordan, leaving a delighted Luna behind, as well as most of the hall gaping at his display of wandless magic.

* * *

Harry was thankful that he had gotten dress robes beforehand, or he would've had to go get some from Hogsmeade. He wore a black robe made out of acromantula silk that seemed to flow like water whenever he walked. It had cost him a pretty penny but, it had seemed nicer than the others, and he had decided that spoiling himself a little never hurt, after all, it wasn't like all his clothes were going to be made of acromantula silk.

An emerald green shirt with silver buttons going down the middle and black trousers made out of the same material completed his robes. His trousers were tucked in to the dark green dragon-hide boots he'd bought, he had a thin silver chain around his neck, and the Potter family ring showing on his right ring finger. His hair fell around his head in waves, his bangs ending just above his eyes, covering his scar. He was glad he'd decided to grow it out; it was more tamed this way and as such, easier to manage.

Taking a last glance at himself, he left the dorm room where the other boys were still getting ready.

Harry went down to the Entrance Hall where Krum was waiting.

He nodded to his fellow champion, "Hello, have our dates arrived yet?"

Krum smirked, "Hello, and no, they hav not. Vere you expecting them to?"

Harry shook his head with a grin, "No."

They waited in silence for a few more minutes, before their eyes widened and their mouths dropped.

Descending the staircase were two of the most beautiful girls Harry had ever seen.

Luna was dressed in shimmering silver robes, gone were the radish earrings and bottle cap necklace. In their places were long diamond earrings with a sapphire teardrop in the middle; her pale neck was adorned with a matching diamond necklace with a similar, but bigger, sapphire teardrop in the middle. The front of her robes were dipped in a sweetheart neckline, showing off just enough cleavage to be tastefully done, the sleeves were long and flowed around her. The robes molded to her body shape at the top, then from the waist, flared down, swirling around her as she walked down the stairs.

Two long braids started at the sides of her head, and then came together at the back, falling in to one long braid. Her curls were now straightened in to a wavy look, leaving her hair to flow gracefully down her back in ripples.

She had put on a light pink shade of lipstick that looked natural on her, her eyes had blue eyeliner around them, making her silvery-blue eyes stand out, and a light touch of blush adorned her cheeks to give her some color.

Hermione wore similar robes of periwinkle-blue, however, her sleeves were shorter and ended halfway above her elbow. She wore a simple silver chain with an aquamarine gem in a diamond cut in the middle and silver earrings that had the same aquamarine diamond cut gem at the ends. Her hair was sleek and shiny, done up in an elegant bun with a lock of her hair twisting around her neck to hang over her shoulder. She had light eyeliner around her eyes, making her honey-brown eyes pop and pink lip-gloss adorned her lips.

As they descended the stairs, he noticed that they were each wearing high heels, silver for Luna and periwinkle-blue for Hermione.

As they came down the last step, he held out his arm as he said, "You both look stunning."

Krum nodded beside him, doing the same for Hermione.

Both girls giggled, "You both look dashing yourselves," Luna replied, with Hermione nodding beside her.

"Shall we, milady?" Harry asked as Krum took Hermione away.

Luna nodded. Harry had a smile on his face as he led her to where the other champions were.

Harry sighed happily, "I'm going to be the luckiest guy, you know?"

Luna tilted her head, "Oh? And why is that?"

Harry smiled, "Because I'll get to have the prettiest girl at Hogwarts on my arm for the whole night!" He declared.

Luna laughed, "Oh, stop you!" She said, pretending to blush, but Harry saw the laughter in her eyes.

"Although, if you turn out to be a horrible dancer, I'm not sure my feet would survive," Harry said, eyeing the pointy silver heels.

Luna laughed, "Don't worry, I'm perfectly good. If nothing else, Hermione is an excellent teacher. Thank you for the robes and jewelry by the way."

Harry shook his head, "You should thank Hermione, she's the one you went shopping with."

Luna smiled, "I did, but you are the one who paid for everything."

"Consider it a Christmas present," Harry said. He smiled as he received a peck on the cheek from Luna.

Just then McGonagall came in, "Alright, line up."

She led them in and stood to the side as they passed by her.

First to enter was Fleur on the arm of Roger Davies, after her was Cedric Diggory with Cho Chang. Next, Viktor Krum went in with Hermione Granger, gasps were heard through out the hall as every eye was on Hermione. Harry let her have her moment before coming in with Luna Lovegood. There was a second round of gasps that went around as every eye turned from the astonishing pair of Hermione and Krum to the youngest pair.

Harry and Luna walked with confidence up to the dance floor, their black and silver robes making a beautiful contrast.

The music started and Harry put his hand on Luna's waist, his other hand expertly sliding in to hers. Harry twirled her around as Luna gracefully kept in step with him. Everyone watched as the champions and their dates spun on the dance floor, as the first dance was completed, everyone clapped, and soon others joined them in their dance with their own dates.

Harry smiled as he and Luna continued dancing even when the first song was completed.

"Having fun?" Luna teased as she was spun around and brought back in.

"Oh, yes, very much so. I definitely made the right choice," Harry said as they moved as one around the floor, "Beautiful and interesting."

Luna smiled, her eyes sparkling.

They danced for a couple more songs, before Harry led her out to sit for a bit, "I'll go get us some punch, you go find us some seats," he said in her ear.

Luna nodded.

Harry ran a hand through his hair as he went to the punch table, he picked up two glasses; he floated them by his side, as he decided to get some snacks as well. He got a couple of sweets and some crisps arranged on a plate, he caught the glasses in one hand and the plate in the other. He looked to see where Luna was and found her sitting in the back at one of the tables that were set before a Christmas tree.

He made his way to the back and handed Luna a glass, before setting the plate and his own glass down.

"Thank you," Luna said as she gratefully took a sip.

Harry nodded, settling in to his own seat. They sat just listening to the music and letting their own heartbeats calm down.

"I was half thinking Fleur would come alone," Luna commented.

Harry nodded, "Yeah, did you see when Ron practically screamed at her?" Harry snickered.

Luna looked at him, finally taking her eyes off the dancers and facing Harry, "No, but I heard a little about it, did you?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah, I was heading to the common room and, apparently, Ron wanted to ask Fleur out, so he went up to her in the Entrance Hall when she was with all her friends, and at first he just mumbled something, then when she told him to speak up, he literally shouted 'Will you go to the ball with me?' and his spit got on her face, then he stood there waiting for an answer," Harry said, snickering.

Luna laughed, "Oh, that's too funny, but he must've been so embarrassed!"

"He was, after Ginny pulled him away, he finally realized what he had done, and ran to the common room. I feel sorry for him," Harry said, shaking his head.

"You do?" Luna asked curiously.

Harry sighed, "Yeah, even if he had turned his back on me, he doesn't deserve getting so humiliated," Harry leaned back in his seat, "You know, I was going to take him back after some time, even if he did betray me, but after what he said in the Great Hall and then when he went back to throwing taunts at me because I wouldn't take him back, I just-," Harry shook his head, "Never mind."

Luna smiled softly, "You don't need to justify yourself Harry, you did what anyone else would have done, Merlin, anyone else would have done far worse to him."

Harry smiled, "Thanks Luna.

"So, did you listen to the gossip about us?" he teased.

Luna gasped, pretending to be offended, "Of course I did, who do you take me for?"

Harry laughed, "So?"

Luna grinned, "Apparently, you are one of the hottest guys at the dance and every girl wishes to be on your arm."

Harry looked mock offended, "Only one of the?"

Luna grinned, "Cedric Diggory, Viktor Krum, Draco Malfoy, and Blaise Zabini; not necessarily in that order."

Harry pouted.

"But you are the cutest of the five, just not the sexiest," Luna said.

"That doesn't make me feel better."

"I know."

"Well, what about you, Miss Moonshine?"

Luna's eyebrows rose up.

"Luna, silver, silver robes, moon," Harry explained in a bored voice.

Luna made an 'Oh!' expression as she realized what he was talking about, "I got a lot of compliments," she said delightedly.

"Thank you, Harry," Luna said sincerely.

"For what?"

"For being my friend," Luna said.

Harry smiled, "Then I should thank you too, for being my friend as well."

Luna shook her head as a genuine smile lit up her face.

Hermione huffed as she walked over, "You two are so sappy!"

Harry grinned, "Hey! You had your sappy moment with her, it was my turn now."

"And you couldn't have done it at another time?" Hermione asked incredulously.

Luna laughed at that, "It's true you know."

"Hey! You're my date, you're supposed to be on my side!" Harry said pouting.

Luna shrugged as Hermione giggled.

"So, where's your partner?" Luna asked.

"Viktor went to get us drinks," Hermione said.

"Viktor? That's it?!" Harry teased, "I thought you would've been calling him Vick or Vicky by now, shame on you Her-mi-o-niny."

Luna burst out laughing as Harry said Hermione's name, Harry who'd had a mock-disappointed face until then, made the mistake of looking at Luna and started laughing, too.

Hermione swatted at his head and Luna's arm, "Shut it you two!"

The evening continued in this manner with the four of them joking and going out to dance at random times, with Hermione trying to teach Viktor how to pronounce her name, which made Harry and Luna laugh silently.

* * *

|Letter|

Hey Pup,

I hope this letter finds you in good health; we need to talk face-to-face, meet me in the cave near Hogsmeade on the 27th.

Snuffles

P.S. Bring lots of food.

|Letter End|

'_Damn!'_ Harry sighed, _'Stupid Sirius, if he isn't careful, he's going to get caught!'_

* * *

Harry used the time-turner to go back 12 hours; after he was sure it was done, he tucked the gold chain back under his shirt and threw on his invisibility cloak. He opened the Marauder's Map and saw his past self outside in the snow with four other dots. Harry, Luna, Fred and George where all playing outside and trying to get Hermione to join in.

Harry smiled; he slipped out from the second floor bathroom and walked to the statue of the one-eyed witch.

"Dissendium," Harry whispered, tapping the head with his wand. It shrank back and allowed him to go through. He hurried through the passage and up to the Honeyduke's cellar. He made his way quietly out of the shop and up the hill to the caves.

"Snuffles!" Harry grinned as a big black dog launched itself at Harry, nearly knocking him down, but at the last moment, Harry spun on his feet to keep his balance.

Snuffles barked happily, then led him deeper in to the cave. When he was going to shift back, Harry shook his head, "Wait a minute."

Harry turned around and waved his wand, all the while hissing out spells in Parseltongue, creating a barrier of notice-me-not charms, anti-eaves-dropping spells, and wizard-and-muggle-repellant wards. The Parselmagic books in Slytherin's study were packed with a lot of knowledge and he'd spent almost everyday since he'd found them, practicing until he'd gotten them right.

Harry nodded to Sirius, who shifted back immediately.

"Hey pup!" Sirius said.

Harry laughed, "Hey Siri. Dobby!"

Dobby appeared and with a snap of his fingers, a feast was laid out before them. He bowed at the teen and disappeared.

"You have a house-elf?" Sirius asked, looking at the food.

"Eat, Siri. Yes, I found out this summer that he bonded himself to me after I freed him from Lucius Malfoy," Harry explained.

"Sirius, can you do me a favor?" Harry asked, deadly serious. Sirius looked up, sensing Harry's mood.

"What is it, pup? You know you can ask me anything," Sirius said.

"Go to Potter Manor, I know you're keyed in to the wards there. The wards are ancient there, I've spoken to the goblins about it, and they said that Potter Manor has one of the best wards in England. You'll be safe there. You'll have a warm meal three times a day and clean clothes, and to ensure that the house-elves there will accept you; you can take Dobby with you. His uniform should be proof that I sent him. If not, I can get some veritaserum for you and you can prove yourself that way," Harry said, he continued when he saw Sirius opened his mouth, "And the wards extend far in to the grounds, so you'll be able to go outside."

"But what about you? I can't just leave you!" Sirius finally said.

Harry shook his head, "Siri, I'm fine. I'm at Hogwarts, and frankly, I don't like worrying over you. And this way, I can speak to you every night through the floo if you'd like."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "And how would you do that?"

"I have an apartment in my trunk that's connected to the floo, and before you ask, no I can't let you live in there, for one, my password is in Parseltongue and I don't know how to change it; two, sneaking you in and out would be much harder, especially as no one knows I have an apartment in my trunk; three, Merlin, there are so many ways that you could be caught, especially with the Ministry, not to mention, the Minister himself, will be in Hogwarts for the Tournament. There are millions of things that could go wrong, not to mention the least of the problems is you getting bored and deciding to go exploring," Harry said, ticking off a finger for each reason.

Sirius sighed, "Alright, I'll go to Potter Manor. Now, tell me all about what's been happening."

Harry grinned and told Sirius everything, from the judges reaction to him using the summoning charm to the dance lessons McGonagall had them take. He talked about Ron being embarrassed by McGonagall to him screaming at Fleur, then all about his night at the Yule Ball and how much fun he'd had with Luna, Hermione, and Krum. Though, he didn't mention that he had learned the dark arts as well as Parselmagic, however he was sure that Sirius already had his suspicions on the latter, the cave wards for one thing, but Sirius never asked, and Harry didn't bring it up.

When asked to show how he did his rose trick, Harry made a rose appear for Sirius, "I practiced a lot to get it right, at first it was just pushing things around and making things float, then I moved on to the spells learned in first year, and so on, after that, I started thinking about making stuff appear, I'd seen it often enough. So I started with small things, slowly I made them a little bigger, then I added details to it, and finally, I had to make it stay for more than a couple of minutes," Harry explained as Sirius examined the rose.

"I still haven't gotten the hang of it yet, and I still have trouble, but there are some things I can do, but it takes a lot out of me if I do any of the big things."

"This is really complicated work, Harry," Sirius complimented, then frowned, "Harry, how exhausted do you get when doing this?"

Harry frowned, "Well in the beginning I used to get really drowsy, then later on, just really, really tired as I moved on."

Sirius' forehead crunched, "That doesn't seem right. When you were little, you could make things zoom around with little to no effort, it drove your parents wild," Sirius smiled in remembrance, but snapped out of it, "What I'm saying is, I'm pretty sure you shouldn't be having this much trouble."

Harry hummed, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"Why don't you get the goblins to do a cleansing ritual on your magical core?" Sirius suggested after awhile.

Harry looked surprised, "They do that? I thought they only ran the bank."

Sirius nodded, "They do run the bank, but they're also in charge of curse-breaking and wards; which can be on a building or a person. If there is a bind on your magic, like I think there is, then they'll be able to help."

Harry nodded, "I'll do that before the next task, then."

"What is the next task? Have they told you?"

Harry shook his head, "No, they gave us a clue in the form of a golden egg, which when opened, makes a terrible shrieking sound." Harry sighed.

"Banshee?" Sirius asked.

Harry shrugged, "That's what I'm beginning to think, either that or harpies."

After they had eaten and spent some time laughing, Sirius' smile dimmed, "Don't you have to go back, pup?"

Harry smiled and shook his head, "No, I have a 12-hour time-turner, I've already lived the day once, so now I can spend the whole day with you!"

Sirius grinned happily, then blinked, "Why do you have a time-turner?"

"Oh, it's for my classes, I'm taking four electives, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, and Divination. Although I want to drop Divination, as it really is a waste of time, but if I do, I won't be able to keep the time-turner and Muggle Studies will be even more boring," Harry explained.

Sirius nodded, "Makes sense, and I agree, Divination is a waste. However, you said it was a 12-hour one? When are you sleeping?"

"Oh, well when I wake up, I spend the whole day using the time-turner for classes, then I use the time-turner to go back to the beginning of the day and then take a nap for about two-three hours then I do all my homework and stuff, then I go to sleep at night again."

Sirius whistled, "You should make sure there aren't any adverse effects because of your use of the time-turner."

Harry nodded, "I'll have to ask McGonagall, I hadn't even thought there would be any effects. By the way, I need your help with something," Harry said, he reached in to his robes and pulled out a book and Sirius' eyes widened at the title.

"No way! You're learning to be an animagus?" He asked, delighted.

Harry grinned, "Yeah, but I need someone with me to do the second step."

Sirius eyes lit with recognition, "Ah, the first time transformation spells. Yeah, I know how to do it, I was the one who did the spells for James, and James did them for me, he was great at Transfiguration."

Harry nodded, "So do you remember the spells?"

Sirius nodded, "Let me just make sure, though. I know the spell to turn an animagus back to human form, but I'm not sure if I remember the other one."

Once Sirius had found the page, he quickly read through it, memorizing the spells, "Ready?"

Harry nodded as he stood up.

Sirius cast the spell to force the animagus change on Harry.

Harry felt pain spread throughout his body and his bones shift, fur appeared on his body and his mouth elongated and his canines grew. As suddenly as the pain started, it stopped.

Sirius grinned at the cute creature that stood before him. It was a black wolf cub, about two feet tall, it had green eyes and there was what seemed like the lightning bolt scar under the fur on his forehead, but it was only noticeable if you were specifically looking for it. His tail was two different colors, the top of it was a very dark green and the rest was a pure black, like the rest of his fur.

Harry let out a small whine as he spun around trying to see what he looked like.

Sirius, still grinning, conjured a mirror for him. Harry barked out a thank you, but it came out as a yip.

"Well, aren't you just the cutest thing ever," Sirius said amused.

Harry growled, but Sirius only laughed. Harry walked around the cave towards the shadows and disappeared.

Sirius' eyes widened, "Harry! Harry, where are you?"

A yip came from his left and Sirius whirled around, his eyes wide and mouth open.

He gaped, "I'm going to cast the spell to turn you back…" Sirius said faintly, eyes still wide.

Harry laughed at Sirius' expression, "Yeah I was surprised to find out my form was a Shadow Wolf, too, but I was mostly sleepy."

"Oh, we were all pretty sleepy after that," Sirius chuckled.

"How come I'm so small, though? I saw a fully grown wolf in my meditation," Harry asked frowning.

Sirius grinned, "The meditation shows if you have a form and what you'll look like when you're fully grown. Don't worry, we were all small."

Harry grinned, "Does that mean when you first transformed, you were a puppy?"

Sirius scowled, "…No."

Harry laughed.

* * *

"Ok, I'll be heading off to Potter Manor, but listen," Sirius said, as Harry was putting his invisibility cloak back on to sneak back in to the school, "You know there are mermaids in the black lake, right?"

"Really?" Harry asked curiously.

Sirius nodded, "Try opening the egg underwater."

Harry's eyes narrowed in contemplation and he nodded, "Thanks Siri. I'll send Dobby with you."

Sirius nodded.

"Dobby!" Harry called, "Listen, I need you to go to Potter Manor with Sirius." He continued giving the elf specific instructions and then waited for the elf to nod, before watching Sirius go off, probably going to find Buckbeak before heading to the Manor.

* * *

The reason for Harry's animagus form:

I actually couldn't make up my mind if I should make it a mammal or a bird. At first I wanted to make it a fox, but it just wouldn't fit with Harry's personality. Then a black phoenix, but it was so cliché it wasn't even funny. Finally, I went online and took an animal quiz and chose answers pertaining to Harry as best as I could and got Hyena. Again, it didn't work for me. I took it again and got wolf and this was the explanation they gave:

You are the wolf. You like company, but don't mind being alone at times. You're usually calm, unless provoked or annoyed. You'll do anything to protect your family and friends if need be. You enjoy silence and are a bit mysterious at times. You can be a bit apathetic, but it suits your personality.

This seemed to fit Harry, but I also wanted Harry to be a magical creature, hence the shadow part, plus it worked with the "mysterious at times" part of the result. So there you have it.

Animagus Training:

JKR doesn't specify the steps to become an animagus, so I've made up my own. First is the potion to find out if you have a form and what it is. Second are the spells, so you can get a feel of the shift from human to animal. Lastly, the third step, is trying to transform on your own by using how you felt when the spell made you turn in to your animagus form.

Emerald: All right, that's it! Sorry for the late update. Also, now that I have uploaded all the chapters that were all ready written, updates will no longer come every week. They'll be either every two weeks to every month at the latest.

Review/Fav/Alert! I love you all!


	4. Chapter 4

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"**Parseltongue"**

_Harry Writing_

_Tom Writing_

_**SOUND EFFECTS**_

*Japanese Key:

- Rasen = Spiral

- Biyoku = Tail

* * *

Harry took a pinch of floo powder and threw it in to the fireplace in his apartment. Anorak had given him permission to floo directly in to his office, as he couldn't go through the Leaky Cauldron because it wasn't a Hogsmeade weekend and he couldn't use Dumbledore's name again, or it would be suspicious.

"Gringotts, Anorak's Office. *Rasenbiyoku," Harry said the foreign word with only a little difficulty as he had been practicing, knowing he couldn't mess up the password. He knew the password would change after his use today; it was another security measure.

He stumbled out of the fireplace, which was the best he seemed to be able to do, and was greeted by Anorak's smirking face.

"Lord Potter," Anorak greeted.

"Anorak, is everything ready?" Harry asked.

Anorak nodded and led the way out of his office, "Yes. If there are indeed binds on your magic, we will be able to remove them, as well as any other suppressors. Usually wizards tend to go to St. Mungo's for this, but we offer a more complete analysis and we do it faster."

Harry understood, the goblins weren't as trusted, people were wary of them.

"Ah, well, only the best for me," Harry joked. Anorak grinned, which was a little scary, if Harry thought about it, which he'd rather not do.

He was led in to a stone chamber that had runes carved all over it, Harry walked up to one of the walls and examined it, he understood very few of them, but most others were a mystery. He wasn't too put off since he was only in his second year of Runes.

He noticed another goblin beside Anorak that he hadn't noticed before, too preoccupied with the walls, as he walked over to the duo.

"This is Raleik. He is the head of the ritual department," Anorak said, "I shall see you when you finish."

Harry nodded as Anorak left.

The next few minutes were spent with Raleik explaining what was going to happen. "Lay on your back, you must be divested of all clothing," Anorak instructed. Harry nodded and followed the goblin's instructions. Harry then had to drink a potion that looked like black sludge and tasted even worse.

"Don't gag now, it isn't that bad," Raleik said as he slit open Harry's arm and used the blood to draw runes on his palms, his navel, and his forehead, right over his scar.

Raleik started muttering something in Gobbledygook as he circled around Harry, who was lying in the center of a 7-pointed star that lay inside a circle, with the tips of each point just barely poking out of the circle.

Harry started to feel very heavy, a jolt of pain raced through him as his eyes slipped closed and his breathing evened out.

* * *

"-Potter."

Harry awoke to someone calling his name. He tried to open his eyes, but couldn't feel them. He strained to open his mouth to talk, but nothing came out, he couldn't feel his mouth, either. He started to panic. He attempted to feel the other parts of his body, however, it was like his senses were gone, he couldn't feel anything.

"Lord Potter," Raleik called, "Listen to my voice, it will guide your mind. Relax and find your magic. Feel, as it spreads throughout your body and fills you, from the top of your head to the tips of your toes."

Harry calmed down after a few seconds, he relaxed completely and felt for his magic, finding it after a few moments, he let his magic out, filling his body and pushing outwards.

Harry snapped his eyes open with a gasp. He had never felt better before. His mind was suddenly a lot clearer and his magic…

He sat up, "Wow, my magic…"

Raleik nodded, "Yes, it seems that a little more than half of your magic was blocked off. The ritual took a shorter time than expected, because, if I am correct, you have started to practice wandless magic?"

Harry nodded, "Yes, but it's just floating some things and a couple of spells, I can also conjure small things."

Raleik nodded and continued, "Yes, it seems that the use had you unconsciously start to break the chains on your magic. Wandless magic is very complicated and an average wizard would need access to nearly half of their magic for any spells above first year at Hogwarts; that you managed to conjure things without full access to your core, shows how magically powerful you are. Of course, now that you have more magic, you will need to learn to control your magic better. Also, the bind on your animagus form was starting to break when you took the animagus potion and broke completely after you went through the spell-induced transformation."

Harry nodded, "Wow, I had no idea it was such a big deal. My parents and Godfather became Animagi in school and I thought it a useful skill to have. Is it possible to find out who put the constraints on my magic?"

"The binds put on a magical core usually reflect something that the person responsible for the binds, is most associated with. The color of the eyes, a signature engraved on the chains, the shape of an animal, in this case… the color of the chains on your core were a twinkling blue," Raleik said, knowing he didn't need to say more.

A bad feeling came over Harry when he heard that, "Are you positive?"

Raleik nodded, "There were also a few compulsion charms on your mind that were removed in the ritual, as they were powered by your magic. If they had not been linked to your magic, they would still be there, but I recommend seeing a mind-healer at St. Mungo's to make sure that all the compulsions are off, there may be some that are still there and not powered by your magic. Although, the ones found were mostly negated, I assume you were beginning to practice Occlumency?"

Harry's jaw clenched and he nodded tersely, "What were they?"

"There was one that enhanced your curiosity, one that dulled your self-preservation instinct, and lastly a compulsion to save anyone to the extreme and a feeling of guilt if you were unable to do so," Raleik said.

Harry sucked in a sharp breath as his magic swirled around him. _'Does that mean I never would've gone to save Ginny? What about the stone? I-I couldn't have been- Was it all a lie?' _

He needed to be alone.

"Is everything complete?" Harry asked quietly.

Raleik nodded, "Yes, everything is done and the payment has also been given. Your clothes along with your wand and holster are in that box; you may use the floo in the other room to head back. However, Lord Potter, before you leave, you must know something," Raleik said, his tone deadly serious.

Harry looked at the goblin, he was reluctant to know more, but knew that he had to listen now or it may work against him at a later date, he nodded for him to continue.

"Do you know what a Horcrux is?"

Harry shook his head, the bad feeling from before coming back twice as hard.

"It is an object that holds a piece of someone's soul that has been ripped off the original by the act of killing," Raleik said, "It seems the mystery of the night Lord Voldemort was defeated is no longer a mystery, well not all of it, at least."

A chill went down Harry's spine.

"I believe that the night he tried to kill you, he was going to make another horcrux, however, something went wrong, perhaps the ritual was interrupted by another, but a piece of his soul that should have gone in to another object, instead, latched on to you, it resides where your scar is."

Harry blanched.

After he said that, Raleik took his leave, giving Harry a few moments to himself before he gathered his stuff and did the same.

"Prongslets' Shadow Pad, Padfoot," Harry said and vanished. There was much to think about.

* * *

He paced in Slytherin's study. Questions gathering in his head, the most prominent was, why?

What did Dumbledore get out of doing this? Why do this at all? Why place binds on his magic? Why the compulsions? Why did Dumbledore never tell Harry what he was? Or did Dumbledore not know?

He remembered first year and all his thoughts on the task, they were ridiculously easy. He got that the tasks shouldn't have been too hard in case the other teachers needed to get to the stone quickly, but those tasks were a joke.

He still didn't know why Nicholas Flamel had given the stone to Dumbledore in the first place. He'd been protecting it for centuries and someone with centuries of knowledge could have protected the stone better than the Headmaster of a school.

In second year, the chamber was opened and the basilisk was let out. A basilisk that petrifies the victim if not looking it directly in the eyes, and kills if you look at it in the eyes; and there were only petrifications, that was suspicious in and of itself, not everyone could have been that lucky, should have been that lucky.

Also, the chamber was opened before, how come no one figured out what the monster was? He was pretty sure that there wasn't a spider that had those same characteristics, not to mention, students would have surely panicked if they'd seen a large spider.

And why had he gone to Lockhart? Why didn't he go to Snape? After all, he knew Snape wasn't incompetent and had saved his hide in first year during the broom incident. He had also knocked down Lockhart with a simple _Expelliarmus, _so what on earth had possessed him to go to Lockhart? Especially when he found out that Lockhart was a fraud, what stopped him from seeking out Snape?

Even if he didn't like Snape, surely he could've gone to Flitwick; he was supposed to be an excellent dueler. Although, perhaps he wouldn't have gone to McGonagall, he admitted he liked his head of house, but she didn't listen to him in first year, so she most likely wouldn't have listened to him that time, either.

The Chamber… Harry's eyes widened as something came to the forefront of his mind, he quickly sprinted out, to the exit behind Barnabas the Barmy and ran to the Gryffindor Common room. He ignored Hermione calling his name and ran up to his dormitory, where only Neville was.

"Nev, could you give me a moment? Just close your curtains, you don't have to leave," Harry said, panting a bit.

Neville raised an eyebrow but nodded and closed the curtains. Harry threw a locking charm at the door.

He tapped the sapphire, **"Hedwig," **he hissed quietly, so that the sound wouldn't reach Neville's ears.

He quickly moved the shelves until he found the dark arts shelf. He took out Tom Riddle's Diary and put it in his robes. He closed and locked his trunk once more.

"Thanks Nev," Harry said as he sprinted back down to the common room and out the portrait hole before anyone could say another word. He headed straight towards the second floor girl's bathroom and to the study once again.

He flipped open the book as he took out a quill and sat down.

_I know what you are._

_What? No hello? You have appalling manners._

_You're a Horcrux._

There was no reply for a few seconds, before ink started appearing once more.

_Reading books we aren't supposed to have, I see. _

_No, actually, I went to the goblins for a ritual and they gave me some very… disturbing news._

_And what news would that be?_

_Actually, I don't think I'll tell you. I have my answer, no need to give you anything more._

Harry wrote then closed the book, not waiting for a response.

An epiphany came to him. He held a piece of the Dark Lord's soul. He was keeping said Dark Lord alive. All those years where Harry could have died…

'_Dumbledore is trying to kill me.'_

But why couldn't he have done it when he was a baby? Why let him live at all? Maybe he didn't want to do it himself, the old coot didn't want to get his hands dirty. But wait, if he had a piece of Voldemort's soul in him and the Diary was also a Horcrux, then could he have more?

He looked around, could Tom Riddle have found out about Horcruxes from here? Right here in Slytherin's study, there were hundreds of books, could one have told him about how to make one? If so, what about trying to find one? He looked at the Diary; it would be nice to have insurance if it was taken from him.

Unfortunately, he still had to figure out the clue from the golden egg and that had to take top priority for now. He had no wish to die in a stupid tournament.

* * *

Harry grumbled as he walked in to the common room, pulling off his invisibility cloak.

"Harry?"

Harry froze; he turned around to face the armchair by the barely lit fireplace.

Harry relaxed as he saw her, "Hermione? What are you doing up so late?"

Hermione held up a book, "I couldn't sleep, where've you been, why is your hair all wet, why do you have the egg with you, did you figure out the clue, yet?" She took a sniff and blinked, then sniffed again, "And why do you smell so…"

"Fruity?" Harry asked.

She shook her head, "It's a lot of scents mixed together, but it does smell nice."

Harry sighed and took a seat opposite the armchair Hermione was in, "Wizards are idiots."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "Care to start from the beginning?"

"Right, so I've been talking to Snuffles, about the tasks and the clue, and he said to try listening to the egg underwater," Harry began, gesturing to the egg, "Turns out, I have to find a way to breathe underwater for an hour."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "How does that make wizards idiots?"

"The second task is going to be in the Black Lake in February," Harry deadpanned.

Hermione smiled sympathetically, "I see your point. What did the egg say when you opened it underwater? Exact wording, if you will."

Harry rolled his eyes, "Do you want me to sing it, too?"

Hermione shook her head, "No thank you, I wouldn't wish your singing on Voldemort."

Harry gasped, mock offended, "I'll have you know, I have the voice of an angel."

Hermione burst out laughing, "Just get on with it," she said.

"Fine, fine.

Come seek us where our voices sound,  
We cannot sing above the ground.

While you're searching, ponder this,  
We've taken what you'll surely miss.

An hour long you'll have to look,  
To recover what we took.

Past an hour, the prospect's black,  
Too late it's gone, it won't come back."

Hermione blinked, "Wow, dramatic much?"

Harry snorted and fell limp in the chair, dropping the egg on the chair beside his.

"So, what are you going to do?" Hermione asked.

A yawn interrupted Harry before he could respond, "Apparently, I'm going to go to bed."

Hermione nodded, "Good night, then."

He stood up and stretched, "You should get some sleep, too. We only have one more day until term starts. We can figure out what to do tomorrow, I already have a small idea, but I need to confirm something first."

Hermione nodded and waved him on, "I'll go in a bit."

Harry shrugged, "Good night."

* * *

Harry looked over himself in the mirror, doing a final check, before heading out to the Black Lake where the school was gathered. He had decided to use runes to help him breathe underwater; he'd gotten the idea from a lesson by Professor Babbling, talking about connecting runes and a chat the day after the message from the egg was revealed, he knew that with Hermione's help he could connect a few of the runes to help him with the task.

However, it was much harder than expected. They were working with sixth year material, after all, and had Hermione not been with him, he had no illusions, that something would have been forgotten or he would've messed up somehow.

There were a series of runes for air and breath on his throat and on his lungs, right underneath his heart; a rune for warmth was placed in the middle of his chest, then a series of runes for sight were placed on the corner of each eye, and lastly, there were runes for a barrier placed around his nose and mouth, so he could speak underwater without getting water in his mouth. Hermione had drawn the runes on his face, but she was called away before she could finish, so he'd had to do it while looking in the mirror. It went slowly, because he knew he couldn't mess up. After he'd drawn the runes, he'd placed a spell on them to make sure they wouldn't be washed away or smudged. That done, he had turned in for the night.

"GOOD MORNING, WITCHES AND WIZARDS!" Ludo Bagman's voice boomed out over the stadium.

Harry tuned out the man's voice; instead he searched the crowd for Hermione and frowned when he couldn't find her. He smiled when Luna waved at him with Neville beside her, giving him a thumbs-up.

"Champions! On your marks!" Bagman's voice once again boomed, the four champions stripped out of their outer clothing, Harry, Krum, and Cedric were in swim trunks and Fleur was in a one-piece silver bathing suit.

_**BOOM!**_

Harry snapped his attention back as the other three champions jumped in, he prayed to whatever God was out there that the runes worked. He took out his wands and touched the tip of his wand to each series of runes and muttered, "Activate." The runes glowed as he took a deep breath and dived headfirst in to the water.

Harry slowly opened his eyes, he blinked a couple of times, letting his eyes get used to being in the dark water, he cautiously took a breath and grinned. It worked. He looked down on his chest and realized that the runes were still glowing a soft blue.

He swam deeper in to the lake, "Lumos," he whispered in to the deafening silence, a small white light floated beside his head, giving him enough light to see the landscape at his feet. He swam towards the middle of the lake, passing by small fish, muddy logs, and grindylows, which he sent spells after to keep them away from his feet.

"How are you doing so far?"

Harry jerked around, his heart beating erratically, eyes wide as he searched for the owner of the voice, his wand held out in front of him.

"Myrtle!" the name left his lips in a shout as the ghost floated before him.

The ghost giggled at his expression.

"Come," she said and she floated towards the middle of the lake with Harry following after her.

Soon enough, Harry could see a village in the distance, he grinned appreciatively, "Thanks Myrtle."

The ghost giggled and left.

Harry swam down towards the center of the village; he saw hundreds of merpeople swimming around, some were in the square, others were floating about elsewhere, talking and doing some other things. He caught sight of the hostages, his eyes widened when he saw four people strapped to four wooden poles with thick vines.

Hermione, Ron, Cho Chang, and a small blonde girl, who was probably Fleur's younger sister, were all floating in a deep sleep. Harry swam down to get Hermione, he pointed his wand at her bonds, "Diffindo," he murmured and the vines fell away.

He caught Hermione, before she could float to the ground. He looked at the other hostages, and then turned to one of the mermaids who were floating behind him, watching him.

"What happens if the other champions don't make it here in time?" he asked, he was sure Dumbledore and the others wouldn't risk the lives of students, but he needed to be absolutely sure.

"That is not your place to know," one of the mermen hissed, but Harry ignored him and looked at the mermaid, who had been cut off.

She scowled and pushed the other out of the way; she looked at him, assessing him, then finally spoke, "We will deliver them to the surface."

Harry nodded, relief in his eyes, "Thank you," he said sincerely.

The mermaid nodded and Harry swam towards the surface of the lake with Hermione in his arms.

He didn't see any of the other champions as he made his way to the surface. He looked at the comatose Hermione still in his arms and thought back to the other hostages, all the while still swimming.

Oh, he knew he was meant to rescue Ron, none of the other champions were meant to take him. Cedric would rescue Cho, Fleur would rescue her sister, and Hermione was meant to go with Krum. Still, he had taken Hermione, because he knew this was probably one of Dumbledore's schemes. A few days after the first task, Harry had been called to the Headmaster's office. He had been surprised to see that Ron was there as well and even more surprised to discover that Dumbledore had wanted to mend the friendship between him and Ron.

Harry shook his head as he saw the lake get lighter; he swam faster as he neared the top. With one last push, he broke the surface of the water with a gasp. He heard another gasp coming from behind him as Hermione's head broke the surface of the water and woke up.

They didn't say anything as they swam to the dock.

As they were about halfway there, a witch from the crowd noticed them and started shouting, which in turn gathered the crowd's attention, including Bagman's, "AND THERE IS MR. POTTER WITH HIS HOSTAGE!"

The crowd immediately erupted in cheers as Madame Pomphrey and one of her assistants helped him and Hermione on to the dock.

Madame Pomphrey cast drying and warming charms, then gave each of them a blanket. Harry quickly took out his wand and deactivated the runes with a simple tap to each series, and they stopped glowing, settling back down to a black color that stood out on his pale skin.

Hermione grinned; she waited until all the runes were deactivated and then hugged him, "Oh Harry! They worked! The runes worked!"

Harry grinned and hugged her back, "Of course they did, after all, the brightest witch of our age helped me out!"

Hermione blushed and smacked his arm as she saw the teasing glint in his eye.

"Mr. Potter."

Harry turned around to face Dumbledore, "Yes, Headmaster?"

"My boy, where is Mr. Weasley?"

Harry could see the other judges behind Dumbledore watching and listening closely. He twisted his expression in to one of confusion, "Sir? I don't understand. The clue in the egg said, 'something I will surely miss,' why should I have taken Weasley?"

The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes was almost completely gone at his answer; Harry could faintly hear the other judges murmuring.

"I was of the assumption that you two were best friends, my boy," Dumbledore said, his eyes telling Harry that he wasn't pleased.

Harry shook his head, "No sir, Hermione is my best friend, that's why I rescued her. After all, I'd surely miss her if she were gone. The others do not mean anything to me. I would be sad if they died, but if I had to choose…"

Harry could see the anger in the Headmaster's eyes, and this time, he knew he wasn't imagining it. He narrowed his eyes in thought, why was it so important that he and Weasley remain friends? He'd have to keep a closer eye on the red-haired prat.

"Well, I see that you were mistaken Dumbledore," Ludo said, walking over to the trio, "I guess we should have used Ms. Lovegood after all."

'_Oh?'_ Harry thought.

"What do you mean, Mr. Bagman?" Harry asked, his curiosity picked.

Dumbledore opened his mouth to interrupt but Bagman continued on, ignoring the aging Headmaster.

"Now, there's no-"

"Oh, you see, we put in the name of each champion in to the goblet and it gave us four names. Since Krum was the first, he got Ms. Granger, then your name was put in and you got Ms. Lovegood, but the Headmaster convinced us to use Mr. Weasley. I see that we were wrong. I hope it won't be a problem for the other champions…" Bagman trailed off.

Harry could see the Headmaster trying to control the rage in his expression.

"Ah, I see. Well, I apologize, if I had known that the Headmaster would have misunderstood, I would've tried to straighten out the misunderstanding," Harry said, pretending to be sincere, although, both he and Dumbledore knew that it was anything but, however Bagman believed him, and for now, that was all that mattered.

"Ah, Harry, not to worry, we all make mistakes and it really wasn't your fault," Bagman patted his back and pulled Dumbledore back to the judges.

"I can't believe Dumbledore would interfere like that," Hermione said, her eyes on the two retreating figures. Harry jumped; he'd forgotten she was there.

"Yeah, well, it's not the first time the coot has put his nose in where it doesn't belong."

Hermione shook her head, but didn't reprimand him on his disrespect of the Headmaster, at least, not in this case.

Harry cocked his head, "Who do you think's going to end up rescuing Weasley?"

Hermione chuckled, "Everyone saw our fight in the Great Hall, I think it depends on whomever gets to the Hostages last."

Harry smirked, "I think Weasley's going to have to have one of the mermaid's deliver him to the surface instead."

Hermione shook her head thoughtfully, "Maybe not, I know Viktor will not want to be the one rescuing him, and Cedric has Cho. Fleur would certainly not be rescuing him, not after the fiasco in the Entrance Hall, but I suppose, for the sake of completing the tasks-"

"OH! AND IT SEEMS LIKE MS. DELACOUR HAS RETURNED WITHOUT HER HOSTAGE!" Bagman's shout broke through their conversation and they looked over to see Fleur getting pulled out of the water.

"Huh, it seems, you just might be right," Hermione said thoughtfully.

Harry cocked a brow, "Aren't I always?"

"Prat, you're starting to sound like Malfoy." Hermione giggled at Harry's horrified expression.

Another shout from the crowd drew their attention and they saw Cedric and Cho swimming towards the docks. They were helped up and given a blanket to warm up while drying and warming charms were cast on them.

Krum ended up rescuing Fleur's sister and, true to Harry's prediction, Weasley had to be delivered to the surface by a mermaid – coincidently the same one he had spoken to before – his face a new shade of red that was previously undiscovered, when he found out that no one had wanted to rescue him. Harry grinned while Hermione reprimanded him for making fun of Weasley, even if she also had a small smile on her face. Harry just threw her a knowing look; she huffed and turned to talk to Krum who was beside her after getting kisses from Fleur for saving her sister, a blush still lingering on his cheeks.

"The judges have now decided on the scores!" Bagman's voice bellowed out and captured the crowd's attention, quieting them within seconds.

"For Mr. Harry Potter's genius use of Ancient Runes for breathing underwater and having arrived five minutes before the time limit, while still being the first one to rescue his hostage, he gets a total of 48 points added to his score, bringing him up to 85 points in total!" Bagman shouted gleefully, the crowd gave a thunderous roar of approval. Harry noted that the two-point loss was actually because of Dumbledore. Hermione pounced on him and hugged him tightly as she squealed and congratulated him, all the while grinning happily. Harry beamed back.

"Next, Ms. Fleur Delacour, for using the Bubble Head charm, but failing to rescue her hostage and arriving after the time limit, she gets a total of 15 points from the judges, brining her score up to 53. After that, Mr. Cedric Diggory, for also using the Bubble Head charm, he successfully rescued his hostage, however, he arrived 15 minutes after the time limit, he gets 39 points added to his score, brining it up to 79 points in total!" The Hogwarts students cheered, giving the same response to Cedric as they did for Harry.

"Lastly, Mr. Viktor Krum! For using a partial shark transformation and successfully getting his hostage, but arriving 20 minutes after the time limit, gets a total of 38 points added to his score, brining it up to 78 points!" Bagman announced.

A rumble of cheers reverberated throughout the stands.

"That brings us to the end of the Second Task," Bagman continued finishing his speech.

"Champions, if you will stay for a moment," Bagman called before they could leave, once they were all gathered in front of him, he spoke, "Alright, now for the Third Task of the TriWizard Tournament, you will be informed of what it will contain exactly one month before the actual date, until then, you are all free to enjoy yourselves. So have fun and just relax for awhile," with that said, he waved good-bye and disappeared with a grin on his face.

They just blinked at the man, before they each hurried off to their respective dorms and parties.

* * *

Harry groaned as he banged his head on the book in front of him. So far he hadn't found anything on horcruxes in Slytherin's Study.

Harry closed the book and walked to the shelf, putting it back before he walked around, trying to think of what he could do. He could try going through each book, but there were hundreds of them and he didn't have that much time but… there was one other thing that he could do.

He gazed at the small black journal sitting innocently on the desk. The journal of one Tom Marvolo Riddle, also containing a piece of said person's soul. He debated on what he should do: on one hand, he was running out of time; on the other hand, the piece of the Dark Lord's soul which was contained in the diary could end up possessing him and then possibly join with the soul piece already inside of him and become even stronger. There was also the possibility that Tom wouldn't tell him anything, he was after all supposed to be his archenemy… but there was one thing!

He walked over to the desk and sat down, grabbing a quill, he flipped open the book.

_Hello Tom._

_Well, well, finally gracing me with your presence._

_I wasn't aware you required it._

_I don't. However, it seems that you do. What is it you want?_

_I want to know more about you. How did you come to be?_

There were a few seconds after he wrote, before writing once again appeared.

_Why, in Salazar's name, would I tell you?_

_Because I can destroy you. You forget, that it was because of me that you weren't destroyed before, however, I can easily do so now, nothing is stopping me from it._

_Nothing but your curiosity. You didn't destroy me before because you wanted answers._

Harry was surprised that Tom knew that, but the writing didn't stop.

_Didn't think I knew that? When you asked that bloody bird for more of its tears, I heard you. I may have been on the verge of destruction, but the few moments I spent as a corporeal form increased my magic slightly, just enough to hear what was going on outside._

Harry stiffened. Increased magic? If Riddle heard him back then, what about now, two years later? He looked closely at the part where his quill was connected to the page. His eyes widened as he felt a small part of his magic being siphoned off and pulled in to the book. He slammed the book shut and pushed it away, cutting off any physical contact he had with the book. There was no way he was going to be tampering with the book any more. If the whole Chamber of Secrets fiasco happened again, this time, there would be no one to stop Riddle from completely taking form, because this time, he would be the one that was being possessed.

He also didn't know the effect phoenix tears had on a horcrux. It had healed him of poisoning, but this was a piece of the soul, could it have more dire effects? Could it make it…stronger?

He stood up and walked around the study again. He stopped pacing and just stared at a section of the wall between two bookshelves, _'I can't search all the books, there's simply not enough time.' _As he stood there, his eyes caught on to something etched on to the wall. He peered closer in to the small space between the two bookcases, there, etched on to the stone wall, was Slytherin's symbol.

"**Open,"** he hissed. He watched as the two bookshelves sunk in to the ground, revealing a sealed off stone arch. Just as he was about to hiss again, a voice spoke.

"**To advance, a riddle you must chance. If you answer incorrectly, a beast shall be set free."**

Harry realized the voice was speaking in Parseltongue.

"**The person who buys me does not need me; the person who makes me, does not want me; the person who uses me, cannot appreciate me. What am I?"**

A chill ran down Harry's spine as he thought about what it could be. Something that the buyer doesn't need, well if it's something that he doesn't need, why buy it? For someone else. Someone who couldn't buy it themselves. That could only happen if they were… dead.

A bad feeling overcame Harry as he hissed out the answer, **"A coffin."**

"**Correct."**

He waited with baited breath as he heard what sounded as if a heavy lock was being opened. A quiet groaning sounded throughout the study, and perhaps the outer chamber as well.

The archway in front of him slowly opened, and it was similar to how the entrance to Diagon Alley was revealed. Brick by brick, it disappeared, leaving a narrow stone passage laid out before him.

Harry hastily pulled out his wand; holding it up, he slowly entered the passage, his footsteps echoing in the eerie silence. The first step inside, a torch lit up on his right.

He continued down the passage, every couple of feet, a torch would light up on either side of him. Soon, he came to the end of the passage and stepped in to a small, dimly lit, stone chamber. Harry gasped as he felt the magic in the chamber flow all around him. It was… beautiful. The magic swirled all around him, it entered him and filled him to the point he felt as if he was about to explode. He gasped, unable to breathe. He let his own magic out, in an attempt to fight the foreign magic. Then, suddenly, the magical pressure decreased, and he could breathe again. He looked around. The room was almost completely bare, except for a table that was situated in the middle of the room.

He walked towards it, feeling the magic pulling him, compelling him to go forward. He stood before the table and belatedly realized it wasn't a table he was looking at. A chill went down his spine as he realized that it was a coffin. It was a sleek black coffin with gold borders, and intricate markings on the sides. It had six sides, and on top of the glossy black lid, lay a single red rose surrounded by red rose petals. It looked like it had just been placed, instead of being placed hundreds of years ago.

Without warning, his hand reached out to open it. Harry panicked; he hadn't meant to move his hand! He felt the magic propelling him forward, whirl around him.

"**Open it," **A voice hissed from around the chamber.

"**No!"** Harry pulled away, stumbling away from the coffin, which he realized was the source of the magic.

"**Do you not want to know what is the true purpose of the Chamber of Secrets?"**

Harry paused, _'the true purpose?'_

"**Yes, open it, and all your answers will be found."**

Harry moved forward, his dull green eyes fixed on the coffin, his hand reached out.

"**Yesss, open it, and all you wish for can be achieved. Everything that you want, you can have. Just, open it."**

Magic swirled around him as he touched the lid, a picture of his mum and dad smiled at him in his mind's eye. A picture of Sirius, laughing and smiling, the shadows of Azkaban no longer there, the haunted look in his eyes gone forever.

"**All my wishes," **Harry hissed, his voice soft as if in a trance.

There he was, Harry, surrounded by his friends and family, no Voldemort, no Dumbledore. He was just Harry, just Harry, like he always wanted to be. No Dursleys, no beatings, no cupboards, no bars, no hunger.

"**Yes, just open it," **the voice floated around him, enticing and seducing him. Oh, how he wanted to, he wanted it so much.

Dull green eyes reverted back to Avada Kedavra green and he pulled his hand away.

"**No. If you want to open it so badly, do it yourself!" **Harry hissed, turning around, his eyes landing on a portrait that was carefully made to blend in with the surrounding stones, so it looked like the regal wizard was painted directly on to the stone itself.

The wizard had glossy black hair that reached his shoulders, a black goatee, high cheekbones, and the most distinguishing feature: the eyes that were the color of a golden fire. He wore long flowing green robes that had gold and silver embroidery. On his hand, Harry recognized the ring he was wearing, it was the symbol of Slytherin.

"Well, well, I see that you aren't as weak of will as some of the others,"the portrait spoke again, this time in English.

"Others?"Harry asked, not sure if he wanted to know.

A malicious smirk appeared on the man's face.

"Now, who might you be?" The man asked, ignoring his previous question, "You are not an heir, although you speak."

Harry blinked, and belatedly realized his manners, "Hadrian Potter," he said, adding a small bow for good measure. He was sure that he was speaking to a Founder; it wouldn't do to get on his bad side.

"I suppose you know who I am," the man replied.

Harry could see the calculating gleam in his eyes, and wondered if this was another test, "Lord Salazar Slytherin, one of the Founders of Hogwarts."

A smirk appeared on his face, "Very good. The answers you seek must be very important if you found the symbol that led you here…" the portrait mused.

His brows drew together, "What do you mean?"

Slytherin looked at the boy standing before him, "How long have you been down in the study?"

Harry blinked at the question, but answered nonetheless, "About half a year."

"Think, how is it that you just found the symbol now? Did you not search the study when you first found it?"

Harry thought back to it and realized the Founder was right, "So it only appears if you really need to find something?"

"It only appears when you need to find answers," the old lord corrected, "Now, what is it that you seek answers for?"

"I… I need to find out more about Horcruxes," Harry said.

The Founder's eyes hardened as he heard what the boy was looking for, and he was reminded of another boy he had met, one that was looking for immortality.

"Why would you need to know that? Horcruxes are a very dangerous type of magic, one that even I, the darkest of all wizards, did not dare to tamper with."

"I found a horcrux in my second year, here," Harry spoke, he had a feeling that Slytherin would help him, and he never ignored his gut, "At first, I did not know what it was, then earlier this year, I went to the Goblins for a magic cleansing ritual and found out that…" Harry paused, he wasn't sure if he should go on. He wanted to keep that particular knowledge to himself.

"Continue," Slytherin commanded.

"I found out that I had a piece of my enemy's soul, here," he tapped his scar.

Suddenly, Slytherin put his hands on the canvas behind him and pushed, as if to come out of the stone. And come out he did. A ghost stood before Harry, but he wasn't colorless or silvery as the other ghosts were. He looked as if he was still alive, if not slightly transparent.

Harry gasped and stumbled away from the tall figure looming over him.

"H-how?"

* * *

Emerald: Oh man, was this chapter hard to write! It's finally complete! Now, I'm going to take a break then go work on the next chapter. Second task happened in this chapter, I was planning on having the third task as well, but I didn't want to make this too long, so third task and regular Voldy will be coming next chapter.

Tell me what you think, you like the twist with the secret chamber in the secret study of the secret chamber?

Personally, there was going to be a box, but then I was like, nah, let's go with a coffin, more dramatic that way. I've been watching waaay too many vampire movies, and no, I'm not talking about the sparkling kind.

Review/Fav/Alert I love you all! Thank you for all your wonderful reviews, they make my heart swell with joy!

**Updates at ****TwistedMindOfMe** – Guess what? I have a twitter! That's right, now you can follow me on there to get updates on my stories, random rants, and my general musings on life. You can follow me at TwistedMindOfMe, my name on there is also Emerald Time.


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